About the Event:

Join ADSNY for a special curator-led tour of the Queens Museum’s exciting new exhibition, The Future’s Vessel: Glass at the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair. The event will also include a visit to the museum’s permanent World’s Fair Visible Storage display, as well as access to the concurrent Tiffany's Lamps: Lighting Luxury exhibition and the famous Panorama of the City of New York model.

Themed “Building the World of the Future,” the 1939–40 World’s Fair in New York connected materials to the built environment through the symbolism of their physical qualities. The Glass Incorporated Pavilion was especially timely, as it shared the history and contemporary applications of the material when transparency and inspiration amid economic and global turmoil were particularly desirable.

While the pavilion both exhibited glassware and demonstrated historical techniques of glass production, it primarily emphasized the importance of the modern industrial processes achieved by such contemporary titans as Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Owens-Illinois Glass Company, and Corning Glass Works, who heralded the arrival of “The Glass Age” at the Fair by linking these developments to progress in scientific research, the arts, communication, medicine, and architecture, and in turn forever merged machine and material with ultimate function — a characteristically “American” contribution to the modern human-made environment.

The Future’s Vessel ponders the popularity of glass-as-keepsake alongside the dazzling architectural elements present at the 1939–40 World’s Fair. A selection of artifacts from the Museum’s collection — brochures, souvenirs, and objects displayed at Glass Incorporated — visualize this juxtaposition between glass as status symbol and “the most versatile servant of mankind.” 

About the Guide and Venue:

Lynn Maliszewski, Archives and Collections Manager at the Queens Museum, is the curator of The Future’s Vessel, and oversees objects related to both of New York’s twentieth-century World’s Fairs, the Museum’s art collection, and its institutional history. 

Founded in 1972, the Queens Museum is located in the nation’s most culturally diverse county, on the grounds of the 1939–40 and 1964–65 New York World’s Fairs, and in a building that formerly housed the United Nations from 1946 to 1950. It is dedicated to presenting high quality arts and educational programming for the people of New York, and particularly the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural, and international community. The Museum’s work honors the history of our site and the diversity of our communities through a wide ranging and integrated program of exhibitions, educational initiatives, and public events.

Registration:

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Current Safety Protocols for this Event:

We look forward to having you join us for this in-person event! The health and safety of all attendees is our top priority. ADSNY will continue to monitor and abide by guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), New York State, and New York City.

• VACCINATIONS: Vaccinations are highly recommended. 
• FACE COVERINGS: Face masks are recommended, but not required. 
• SOCIAL DISTANCING: Attendees must be respectful of each other’s personal space and distance themselves where appropriate.
• IF YOU ARE UNWELL: Stay home if you are feeling sick or symptomatic. If you have been in contact with someone with related symptoms, or who has tested positive within the last 14 days, also stay home.
• COVID RISK: Though positivity rates are declining, an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public space where people are present. Those joining ADSNY’S in-person programming do so at their own risk to such exposure.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out at Info@ArtDeco.org.

All ticket sales are final. Sorry, there are no refunds or exchanges. 

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