The Levant (Middle Eastern) Fair were organized on an international scale in Tel Aviv from the early 1930s onwards, although trade exhibitions promoting domestic products had been held there nearly a decade earlier. The fair significantly stimulated the development of modern architecture in the city. Poland participated in the Levant Fair from 1932 to 1936.

The Eagle and the Winged Camel: Poland at the Levant Fair in Tel Aviv, 1932-1936, written by Artur Tanikowski, takes the form of an essay. In it, the author presents Poland’s participation in three consecutive editions of the Levant Fair. He showcases the architecture of the Polish pavilions, situating them within the broader context of other countries’ fair structures. He explores the concepts and objectives of individual exhibitions, the people involved in their creation, local conditions, and the international reception of both the fairs themselves and the Polish pavilions and exhibitions.

The publication is illustrated with a wealth of images drawn from institutional and private collections in Israel, Poland, and the United States. Many of these materials are presented for the first time, such as drawings and litographs depicting designs of both Polish and foreign pavilions – those created for the Fairs in 1934 and 1936, as well as those that remained purely the authors’ imaginings.

The book was designed by Marta Ignerska, who has won numerous international awards. The publication is available both in Polish and English.

Artur Tanikowski won the Minister of Economic Development and Technology Award in competition for the best theses, doctoral dissertations, and publications in the fields of architecture and civil engineering, planning and land-use planning, and housing for his publication The Eagle and the Winged Camel. Poland at the Levant Fair in Tel Aviv, 1932-1936.

The Eagle and the Winged Camel. Poland at the Levant Fair in Tel Aviv, 1932-1936.
Author: Artur Tanikowski
Graphic design: Marta Ignerska
Publisher: National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, Warsaw 2022
ISBN: 978-83-965401-5-7
Publication is free

The project Poland at the Levant Fair in Tel Aviv, 1932-1936 was carried out at the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning under the direction of Dr Artur Tanikowski of the NIAiU Research Department in 2021-2022.

The project was funded by a grant from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the “Kultura inspirująca” (“Inspiring Culture”) program.

The project’s partners were the Conservation Department at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv