NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM TO PRESENT 'DESIGNING TOMORROW: AMERICA'S WORLD FAIRS OF THE 1930s'

IN THE MIDST OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION, TENS OF MILLIONS OF VISITORS FLOCKED TO WORLD'S FAIRS IN CHICAGO, CLEVELAND, DALL, SAN DIEGO, AND NEW YORK WHERE THEY ENCOUNTERED VISIONS OF A MODERN, TECHNOLOGICAL TOMORROW UNLIKE ANYTHING SEEN BEFORE. ARCHITECTS AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS LIKE RAYMOND LOEWY, NORMAN BEL GEDDES, HENRY DREYFUSS AND WALTER DORWIN TEAGUE COLLABORATED WITH BUSINESSES LIKE GENERAL MOTORS AND WESTINGHOUSE TO PRESENT A GOLDEN FUTURE COMPLETE WITH HIGHWAYS, TELEVISION, ALL-ELECTRIC KITCHENS AND EVEN ROBOTS. THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM'S NEW EXHIBITION 'DESIGNING TOMORROW: AMERICA'S WORLD FAIRS OF THE 1930s' IS THE FIRST-EVER EXHIBITION TO CONSIDER THE IMPACT OF ALL SIX AMERICAN WORLD FAIRS OF THE DEPRESSION ERA ON THE POPULARIZATION OF MAJOR DESIGN AND THE CREATION OF A MODERN CONSUMER CULTURE. ON DISPLAY FROM 2.OCTOBER.2010 THROUGH 10.JULY.2011, DESIGNING TOMORROW BRINGS TOGETHER MORE THAN 200 NEVER BEFORE ASSEMBLED ARTIFACTS FROM THE SIX FAIRS. THE EXHIBITION FURTHER EXPLORES HOW THE 1930s WORLD'S FAIRS WERE USED BY LEADING CORPORATIONS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS LABORATORIES FOR EXPERIMENTING WITH INNOVATIVE DISPLAY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES, AND AS GRAND PLATFORMS FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW PRODUCTS AND IDEAS TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
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