The Saudi Ministry of Culture announces A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World, a new exhibition at the Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice on view from May 6 to November 22. The exhibition is curated by an international team, led by Sara Almutlaq and Aurora Fonda with associate curators Zaira Carrer and Amina Diab.
A Necessary Fiction is a journey through territories in constant flux, where historical maps—dating from the thirteenth century to the present—serve as a lens through which to examine our enduring need to create models of the world. These models offer fantastic mythological visions and imaginative interpretations of scientific inquiry throughout the ages to the present day. The curators, working in close collaboration with exhibition designers Ibrahim Kombarji and Bianca Pedron, create a dynamic perspective on cartography over time and across a wide geographical span.
Early-modern maps, loaned from the collections of major global institutions, are placed in conversation with contemporary artworks. European maps depict the Arabian Peninsula as Arabia deserta, while first-century CE historical artifacts like incense burners and eighteenth-century decorative manuscripts from the Arabian Peninsula demonstrate the legacy of trade and multifaceted cultural interaction that has always shaped this region.
List of participating institutions: King Abdulaziz Public Library, Riyadh; King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archive, Riyadh; Biblioteca Civica Bertoliana of Vicenza; Cremona State Library; Saudi National Museum, Riyadh; Leiden University Libraries; Qatar National Library, Doha, amongst others.
List of exhibiting artists: Sarah Abu Abdallah, Monira Al Qadiri, Abdulmohsen Albinali, Manal AlDowayan, Marwah AlMugait, Nasser Al Salem, Aseel AlYaqoub, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Agnes Denes, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Öyvind Fahlström, Simone Fattal, Basmah Felemban, Enej Gala, Shilpa Gupta, Reena Saini Kallat, Ibrahim Mahama, Ahmed Mater, Eva & Franco Mattes, Abdullah Miniawy, Filwa Nazer, Yoko Ono, Trevor Paglen, Matilde Sambo, Wael Shawky, Tavares Strachan, Giuditta Vendrame, Tod Wodicka, Qiu Zhijie.
15 days ago