Ingangsgebouw van de Wereldtentoonstelling voor het Hotel- en Reiswezen op het Museumplein in 1895 1895

Editor: Here we have a photograph by Guy de Coral & Co., taken in 1895. It shows the entrance building to the World’s Fair for the Hotel and Tourism Industry, held at the Museumplein. There’s such an interesting sense of grandeur, but also impermanence about it – given that it was a temporary structure. What strikes you most when you look at this image? Curator: What fascinates me is how this image encapsulates the ambitions and contradictions of the late 19th century. World's Fairs were carefully staged platforms that demonstrated industrial progress and the expansion of empires, weren't they? And how the tourism industry facilitated and profited from these power structures. Note the word “Welkom,” the performance of welcoming, but who was really welcome, and under what conditions? Editor: That’s interesting. So the architecture itself is a form of propaganda, presenting a curated image of progress? Curator: Precisely! Consider the photograph itself. Photography at the time served as a tool for documenting and promoting these curated visions of societal advancement and trade opportunities. Whose narrative does it prioritize, and what stories are silenced or absent from this carefully constructed image? Editor: The focus is definitely on the architecture and the promise of the event rather than… well, you don’t see much diversity in the people depicted. It makes you wonder who really benefitted. Curator: And how was this benefit achieved? It invites us to interrogate not only the spectacle, but its social and historical ramifications and to reflect on contemporary parallels in global tourism and cultural exchange. Editor: So looking beyond the surface image reveals a more complex, critical narrative about power and representation. It's definitely given me a lot to consider! Curator: Indeed. And perhaps the most pertinent question the photograph raises is: what haven't we been shown?