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Reframing the World’s Fairs

by Mackenzie Strong, Curatorial Assistant for Decorative Arts & Design

1/16/2024

World's Fair, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893, propaganda, nationalism, Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Ferdinand Lee Barnett, Curatorial Blog

If we look at just one example—the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago—we can see how these celebrations of artistic and scientific achievements also communicated complex messages about identity and race.