Overview

The “International Textile Exhibition - Lille 1951” was held in Lille, France, from April 28 to May 20, 1951. It was a special exhibition under the 1928 Convention, with textiles as its theme. Twenty-four countries took part, and the exhibition, which covered 15 hectares, received 1.5 million visits in 23 days.

Theme and subthemes

Lille was a long-established center of the textile industry, a natural host for the subject. The BIE recognized the exhibition on November 15, 1950, only a few months before it opened. The displays covered production methods, machinery, dyes and finished goods, and gave designers and industry representatives a place to exchange ideas. Thematic days were devoted to silk, rayon, nylon, wool and cotton, and an International Textiles Library proved popular with visitors. The exhibition also explored less familiar uses of fabric, such as textile sculptures and paintings.

The site

The exhibition was held in the Grand Palais de la Foire de Lille, the main hall of the city's commercial exhibition grounds. Built in the early 1930s, it was badly damaged during World War II and given only a temporary repair in 1946. Its full reconstruction was carried out for the 1951 exhibition, the first event held in the rebuilt hall. The workshops of Jean Prouvé produced the 1,354 aluminum panels of its new north façade, about 137 meters long, along with balconies and ladders used to mount decorations and lighting. Inside, the hall spanned 120 by 115 meters without intermediate pillars, which the BIE describes as the largest such space in Europe at the time.

Legacy

The Grand Palais remained in use until 1993, when it was demolished to make way for a new conference center. That center, Lille Grand Palais, took its name from the old hall that once stood across the street.