Arts on show: Australia’s first national pavilions at international expositions in 1908 and 1937

Australia’s pavilions at the Franco-British Exhibition (London, 1908) and the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (Paris, 1937) were among the first to represent the new nation to the world, yet both have eluded close examination. Through a comparative history of each pavilion and its displays, this article seeks to demonstrate the evolving strategies towards using the visual arts to help forge both a national identity and a distinctive cultural identity.