An Archive of Past Events
Relating to the 1893 World’s Fair
Oct. 20, 2018: “The Visual Culture the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893” seminar series at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The Newberry’s 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). The registration fee is $242 (with a 10% discount before August 31 at 4 pm) The seminar will meet at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. [...]
Oct. 17, 2018: “Music at the 1893 World’s Fair” at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Wednesday, October 17, 2018, the Newberry will host “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 that was sold as “souvenir” pieces. The performance runs from 6-7:30 pm in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. The event is free and [...]
Oct. 13, 2018: “All the World Is Here” at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Saturday, October 13, 2018, the Newberry will host “All the World Is Here”, a children’s program with music and stories for children, with the Lucky Trikes Storytelling Chamber Band. The event runs from 10-11:30 am in 1-Northwest at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is recommended. An illustration by Victoria Wickell-Stewart for The Mouse with Wheels in His Head by Gene Bradbury. [...]
Oct. 13, 2018: “The History of Jackson Park” at Chicago Public Library
As part of the annual Chicago Open Archives program, the Chicago Public Library will open their collection on Saturday, October 13, for an event exploring the history of the city park that became home to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. “From Swampland to Presidential Center: The History of Jackson Park” will be held from 10 am to noon at the Harold Washington Library Center. CPL offers this description of the program: “Throughout many of Illinois's 200 years, Chicago's Jackson Park has been an important site to the city, Illinois and the world. Through unique archives we explore the history [...]
Oct. 6 & 7, 2018: Masks & Myths: Devils and Dancers from Sri Lanka (Chicago)
Mandala, a South Asian performing arts organization in Chicago, will present Masks & Myths: Devils and Dancers from Sri Lanka on Saturday, October 6 at 7 pm and again on Sunday, October 7, at 3 pm at the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 East 60th St. in Chicago. Not since the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition have Sri Lankan dancers appeared as part of a highly visible international exchange. At that time, Kandyan artists performed in cages as so-called “devil dancers” at the Ceylon Pavilion on the fairgrounds. Dubbed “Devil Dancers,” Sri Lankan dance artists in the [...]
Oct. 6-20, 2018: Chicago a cappella Sings Music of the Columbian Exposition
The vocal group Chicago a cappella will feature some music from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in a concert titled “Chicago, Chicago with Geoffrey Baer.” The concert includes the patriotic song “America the Beautiful” with music by Samuel Ward and lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates (arr. Deke Sharon). During the summer of 1893, Bates traveled from her home in Boston to Colorado. The English professor and writer was so moved by the scenes along the way that she preserved the "amber waves of grain" and "purple mountain majesties" in her most famous poem. “Thine alabaster cities gleam / Undimmed [...]
Oct. 5, 2018: “Art and Design Chicago” episode “If You Build It….” on WTTW (Chicago)
Public Television station WTTW-11 in Chicago will be broadcasting a new four-part documentary series called Art and Design Chicago beginning on October 5 with an episode about the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. “If You Build It....”, hosted by Museum of Contemporary Art curator Naomi Beck, will explore the 1893 World’s Fair and sculptor Lorado Taft through stories told by artist Dessa Kirk and Mark Pohlad, Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture at DePaul University. This first episode also highlights the School of the Art Institute (SAIC), the Institute of Design, the Southside Community Arts Center, and the [...]
Oct. 5 – Dec. 28, 2018: “Seeds of Time: Binghamton at the World’s Fair” at the Bundy Museum (Binghamton, NY)
The Bundy Museum of History and Art in Binghamton, New York, has opened a new exhibit titled “Seeds of Time: Binghamton at the World’s Fair” showcasing that city’s involvement with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The museum notes: “The World’s Fair opened the door to the future, and schools and businesses representing Binghamton sent their best work to display. To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Fair, this exhibit show’s Binghamton’s contributions to the World’s Columbian Exposition, and how those contributions reflected Binghamton’s values and aspirations for the future.” One Binghamton company that exhibited at the Fair in [...]
Oct. 4, 2018: “The Vanishing City: Excavating the World’s Fair” at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Thursday, October 4, 2018, the Newberry will host “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. The lecture runs from 6-7 pm in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. The event is free and [...]
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 [...]