Venice — A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World

Venice — A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World

When: 06/05/2026 - 22/11/2026
Where: Abbey of San Gregorio, Dorsoduro 172, Venice
Organised by: Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia

A Necessary Fiction investigates cartography beyond accuracy: as a cultural and narrative practice. The exhibition pairs cosmographic manuscripts and early maps with contemporary art to explore how representation, belief and lived experience have shaped our sense of place.

Curated by Sara Almutlaq and Aurora Fonda with associate curators, the show stages a dialogue across centuries — from 13th-century manuscripts to 18th-century charts and modern artistic responses — tracing the human impulse to map and imagine the world.

What to see

The exhibition is organised into five thematic sections that move from pre-cartographic practices to hypercartographic contemporary forms. Highlights include alternative cartographic registers such as cosmological diagrams, speculative geographies and navigation traditions rooted in local knowledge.

• Historical holdings: cosmographic folios, globes and early-modern maps.
• Contemporary installations: site-specific commissions and immersive works responding to the Abbey.
• Commissioned projects: new artworks exploring celestial navigation, myth and territorial imaginaries.

Artists featured

• Reena Saini Kallat
• Yoko Ono
• Trevor Paglen
• Simone Fattal
• Manal AlDowayan
• Monira Al Qadiri
• Nasser Al Salem
• Matilde Sambo
• Wael Shawky
• Additional international artists and site-specific commissions

Why visit: the show reframes maps as constructs of imagination and power, offering perspectives valuable to those interested in visual culture, contemporary art and the politics of representation. The Abbey setting enhances the conversation between antique materials and contemporary practice.

Practical info: open to the public until 22 November 2026. Address: Dorsoduro 172, Venice.