exhibitions

Exhibitions became an important platform for the promotion and dissemination of design. Besides establishing design as a distinct discipline, the goal of these exhibitions was also to shape consumer tastes by encouraging the introduction of simple, concise, industrially produced forms—in other words, modern design—into the home.
International exhibitions and industry shows provided an opportunity to demonstrate the progress and living standards achieved by Eastern European countries (and the socialist system) to a global audience. Powered by modern design, the meticulously conceptualized and often experimental displays of the Eastern bloc and Yugoslavia frequently attracted broad attention. At the same time, design was used in the construction of national identity, with exhibitions offering another way to emphasize a nation’s distinctiveness within its ideological camp, which is why national traditions often played an important role alongside modernism in these presentations.
The Eastern European countries also hosted several important exhibitions and fairs on home soil: since 1964, Ljubljana has been hosting the Biennale of Industrial Design (BIO), which quickly became one of Europe’s most important design events, bringing together designers from both East and West. Beyond their propaganda function, these exhibitions also became a unique field of experimentation for architects and designers alike. The limited scale of exhibition architecture made it possible to test ideas that could not have been realized elsewhere, and the need to stand out in an international context often permitted greater creative freedom. Furthermore, exhibition design could also offer an important opportunity for self-realization to many creatives who had been excluded from the profession for political reasons.