ABSTRACT
Exhibition exchange is another high visibility activity under the cultural agreement. There are two types—information exhibitions, mounted by the two governments and designed to present information about the sponsoring country, and art exhibitions, mounted by the museums of the two countries. Exhibition exchanges began with national exhibitions in Moscow and Washington in 1959 under the first cultural agreement. The exhibitions were an eyeopener for the Soviet public. They showed products never before seen in the Soviet Union, and they were very attractive to the eye, with their art work, color and methods of display. Soviet disillusionment with the thematic exhibitions led, in part, to their interest in exchanges between museums of the two countries. The Soviet intent was to delete the thematic exhibitions from the cultural agreement and to replace them with art exhibitions which create fewer political problems. The US thematic exhibitions have been mounted by United States Information Agency which has responsibility for US government exhibitions abroad.
