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A Fleeting Glimpse? ‘Sweden’s Shop Window in Sydney’ - the Sweden at David Jones’ Exposition of 1954

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Bibliographic Details
Title: A Fleeting Glimpse? ‘Sweden’s Shop Window in Sydney’ - the Sweden at David Jones’ Exposition of 1954
Authors: Jones, Mark Ian
Source: Fabrications. 33:279-305
Publisher Information: Informa UK Limited, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Subject Terms: anzsrc-for: 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields, anzsrc-for: 33 Built Environment and Design, anzsrc-for: 1901 Art Theory and Criticism, anzsrc-for: 3301 Architecture, anzsrc-for: 1201 Architecture, 33 Built Environment and Design, 3301 Architecture, 3303 Design, anzsrc-for: 3303 Design
Description: On Wednesday 16 June 1954, a vast exposition of Swedish applied arts, manufacture, lifestyle, and industry opened at Sydney‘s largest department store, David Jones‘ Limited. Presenting Swedish design, food, fashion, merchandise, industry, cars, aeroplanes, machinery, and culture to Australian consumers Sweden at David Jones‘ transformed David Jones‘ three Sydney stores into temporary sites of cultural exchange. It ran concurrent with the North American travelling exhibition Design in Scandinavia and just weeks ahead of the Scandinavian dominated 10th Milan Triennial. What began life as a trade fair to sell more Swedish goods in Australia, transformed into a major exposition that rivalled international events. Inspired by Marshall Plan ‘Buy European’ retail fairs, Sweden at David Jones‘ was intended as a one-off event. Instead, it became a blueprint for David Jones‘ annual calendar of international expos that developed a new type of interlinked commercial and cultural diplomacy. This paper positions Sweden at David Jones’ as a missing chapter in Australian design history during an era of increased interest in Swedish design and the extensive cultural diplomacy efforts of Sweden in the twentieth century. It reflects on chance and serendipity in archival research while considering the exposition‘s physical temporality and its enduring legacy.
Document Type: Article
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 2164-4756
1033-1867
DOI: 10.1080/10331867.2023.2282294
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....62cc15180b1b7666bbe5a65ef6d716ec
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:On Wednesday 16 June 1954, a vast exposition of Swedish applied arts, manufacture, lifestyle, and industry opened at Sydney‘s largest department store, David Jones‘ Limited. Presenting Swedish design, food, fashion, merchandise, industry, cars, aeroplanes, machinery, and culture to Australian consumers Sweden at David Jones‘ transformed David Jones‘ three Sydney stores into temporary sites of cultural exchange. It ran concurrent with the North American travelling exhibition Design in Scandinavia and just weeks ahead of the Scandinavian dominated 10th Milan Triennial. What began life as a trade fair to sell more Swedish goods in Australia, transformed into a major exposition that rivalled international events. Inspired by Marshall Plan ‘Buy European’ retail fairs, Sweden at David Jones‘ was intended as a one-off event. Instead, it became a blueprint for David Jones‘ annual calendar of international expos that developed a new type of interlinked commercial and cultural diplomacy. This paper positions Sweden at David Jones’ as a missing chapter in Australian design history during an era of increased interest in Swedish design and the extensive cultural diplomacy efforts of Sweden in the twentieth century. It reflects on chance and serendipity in archival research while considering the exposition‘s physical temporality and its enduring legacy.
ISSN:21644756
10331867
DOI:10.1080/10331867.2023.2282294