I am pleased to announce that the Quarter 2 2026 issue for Exhibit City News is officially live. You can access the edition via the link on our homepage. For those of you who will receive our physical print magazine, look forward to it in the coming weeks.
When we think of change there are usually two types of reaction: radical acceptance or rejection. The strange middle ground between the two often feels like wading into uncharted water. Questions become riptides and fears become storms. It is easy to drown in the minutia and overwhelm. AI is exactly this type of change.
At the Exhibit Services and Contractors Association (ESCA) Summer Educational Conference 2025, ESCA members were given insight on how AI could help change their lives and the industry as a whole. Between the questions by Dasher Lowe and examples given by Julie Kagy, I was left with a few thoughts. Recent studies illuminate the ways AI is changing how individuals approach analyzing situations. How will that affect an industry built around problem solving? There are other studies that suggest that AI could change the way we communicate as well. How will that affect the way that we connect? Our industry is centered on communicating and bridging gaps between people and creating solutions. Could this not create an issue in our ecosystem in a way that is different from losing jobs or the loss of skills?
At Expo!Expo! in December, I had the chance to sit down and speak with experts about these topics. What can AI do, realistically? What can’t it? Will it disrupt the ecosystem built for people and by people? What happens when it does?
Our Q2 Issue for 2026 is, at its heart, about this question. Is embracing AI a cognitive dissonance within the industry that will ultimately lead to our downfall? Or is it truly an acceleration of progress to bring the industry to new heights? Could it be both? The fall of what we know, in some ways, and the rise of something greater?
In the pages of this magazine, you will find introspections. We look at the way that AI is being tracked in studies (pg. 18) and how it is affecting design (pg. 38). We approach how people can adapt to AI (pg. 20) as well as attempt to quell the fear mongering with considerations that no, not all our jobs will be lost (pg. 34).
Furthermore, we address the people element to the story, we look at the way that change is consistently happening in this industry. From being determined in a work environment (pg. 94) to approaching mentorship the way one approaches jazz (pg. 98), we consider the flexibility and adaptability that those in tradeshows are known for.
Sometimes the uncharted waters are dark and scary. However, if we’re willing, there are those who are ready to teach us to swim. The tension does not have to drag us beneath the surface. It can become the current that carries us forward.
