Sep. 28-Dec. 31, 2018: “Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” at the Newberry Library (Chicago)

The celebration of the 125th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 will climax this fall with a major exhibit and series of programs at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The Library is simultaneously celebrating the 125th anniversary of the opening of their beautiful building, designed by architect Henry Ives Cobb, architect of the Fisheries Building and several other structures on the Columbian Exposition fairgrounds.

Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair opens on September 28, 2018 and runs through December 31, 2018.

Curated by Diane Dillon, the Newberry’s Director of Exhibitions and Major Projects and an expert on the Columbian Exposition, Pictures from an Exposition features works of art and ephemera from the Newberry’s extensive collection of Exposition materials and explores the fair’s tremendous power of attraction, both at the time of its presentation and through history into the present, for both those who attended and those who experienced it from afar. The exhibition will pay special attention to the dynamic between fine art and popular imagery, the intertwining of aesthetic and economic imperatives, and the ways in which the exposition’s visual language reflected the important role that images played in late 19th century American history and culture.

Free, curator-led tours of the exhibition will be offered on Wednesday, October 3 at 4 pm; Saturday, November 3 at 11:30 am; and Tuesday, December 11 at 6 pm.

Lectures and events associated with the exhibit include:

• Thursday, October 4, 2018: “The Vanishing City: Excavating the World’s Fair.” Rebecca Graff, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Chair of American Studies at Lake Forest College, will speak about her archeological and archival research focused on the ephemeral “White City” and Midway Plaisance of the 1893 Chicago Fair. 6-7 pm in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Saturday, October 13, 2018: “All the World Is Here.” Music and Stories for Children, with the Lucky Trikes Storytelling Chamber Band. 10-11:30 am in 1-Northwest. Free and open to the public; registration recommended.

• Wednesday, October 17, 2018: “Music at the 1893 World’s Fair”. A musical performance with accompanying commentary will feature music drawn from the Newberry’s extensive archive of World’s Columbian Exposition material, including pieces actually heard at the Fair in 1893 along with music sold as “souvenir” pieces. 6-7:30 pm in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Tuesday, November 6, 2018: “Eye of the Beholder: Visitor Experience at 19th-Century World Fairs”. Dr. Ruth Slatter, lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Hull (UK), will focus on the many thousands of visitors who streamed through these exhibition spaces. 6-7 pm in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Saturday, November 10, 2018: “Crafting the World’s Fair”. Author and artist Laura Nyman Montenegro will read her book The Most Magical World’s Fair and lead children in a craft project inspired by the Fair. 10-11:30 am in 1-Northwest. Free and open to the public; registration recommended.

• Saturday, November 10, 2018: “Dancing Remains: Female Entertainers Before, During, and After the Columbian Exposition of 1893”. Meiver de la Cruz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Oberlin College, revisits the historical precedents and ideological legacy of the dances presented at the “Street in Cairo” exhibit in the Midway Plaisance, to challenge prevalent representations dancers as non-agential objects of the gaze. 10:30-11:15 am in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Saturday, November 10, 2018: “What Did Middle Eastern Dance at the Fair Look Like?”. Erika Ochoa demonstrates three styles of Middle Eastern dance present at the Fair: Ghawazee from Egypt, Ouled Naïl from Tunisia, and Cengi folk dance from Turkey. Followed by an “Interactive Belly Dance Workshop.” 11:15 am-noon in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Thursday, November 15, 2018: “From White City to Green Haven: Jackson Park’s Late 19th-Century Transformations”. Historian Julia Bachrach will highlight the early development of Jackson Park, exploring the ways in which natural features, Olmsted’s philosophies about society, recreational needs and expectations, and collaborations with designers such as architect Daniel H. Burnham shaped Jackson Park during the late nineteenth century. 6-7 pm in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Tuesday, December 4, 2018: “Christmas at the Fair: The Joffrey’s New Nutcracker”. A special conversation with Alison Hinderliter, Ashley Wheater, and Hedy Weiss about the Joffrey Ballet’s 2018 production of The Nutcracker, set during the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 6-7:30 pm in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

• Saturday, December 8, 2018: “Behind the Model: Reconstructing the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition”. Dr. Lisa Snyder, of UCLA’s Office of Information Technology, will discuss the technology and research behind her rich computer reconstruction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition’s White City. 10-11:30 am in Ruggles Hall. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

The adult education History and Social Science seminar series will include a seminar on “The Visual Culture the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893” led by Diane Dillon on six Saturdays from 2-4 pm beginning on October 20 and ending on December 1 (with no meeting on November 24).

All events will be held at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago.