Saudi-Funded Venice Biennale Collateral Show Explores Maps and Worldmaking at Abbazia di San Gregorio
"A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World," commissioned by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, will be showcased at the 15th-century Benedictine Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice from May 6 to November 22, 2026. This exhibition delves into the influence of maps and models on our understanding of the world. Notable works include Monira Al Qadiri's "The Children of Smokeless Fire" (2025), Reena Saini Kallat's "Woven Chronicle" (2011– ), and Qiu Zhijie's "Battle of Cochin" (2023) and "Tellurian 5" (2018). Historical highlights feature a digital reconstruction of the Ebstorf Map and Abraham Ortelius's "Islandia" (1595). The exhibition concludes with Nasser Al Salem's "Each Time a Star Goes Astray" (2026) and Yoko Ono's "Map Pieces" (1962, 1964). Contributions come from the Saudi National Museum and Yale University.
Key facts
- "A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World" runs May 6–November 22, 2026, at the Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice.
- The exhibition is a collateral event of the Venice Biennale commissioned by the Saudi Ministry of Culture.
- Monira Al Qadiri's façade installation "The Children of Smokeless Fire" (2025) references the 13th-century manuscript by Zakariya al-Qazwini.
- Reena Saini Kallat's "Woven Chronicle" (2011– ) depicts migration routes using circuit boards, speakers, and electric wires.
- Qiu Zhijie presents "Battle of Cochin" (2023) and "Tellurian 5: Geography of Interests" (2018) from his "Mappa Mundi" series.
- Historical maps on view include the Ebstorf Map reconstruction, the 1561 "Ptolemaei Typus," and Abraham Ortelius's "Islandia" from "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" (1595).
- Nasser Al Salem's "Each Time a Star Goes Astray" (2026) and the soundscape "Sonic Psychogeography" (2026) by Tod Wodicka and Abdullah Miniawy are site-specific commissions.
- The exhibition concludes with Yoko Ono's "Map Pieces" (1962 and 1964), including the instruction "Draw a map to get lost."
Entities
Artists
- Monira Al Qadiri
- Zakariya al-Qazwini
- Pliny the Elder
- Reena Saini Kallat
- Marco Polo
- Zheng He
- Matteo Ricci
- E. H. Shepard
- Abraham Ortelius
- Qiu Zhijie
- Ptolemy
- Copernicus
- Henry C. Beck
- Nasser Al Salem
- Tod Wodicka
- Abdullah Miniawy
- Yoko Ono
- Kelly Ma
- Ahmed Mater
- Simone Fattal
- Ibrahim Mahama
- Shilpa Gupta
- Trevor Paglen
- Matilde Sambo
- Manal AlDowayan
- Nolan Oswald Dennis
- Eva & Franco Mattes
- Giorgio Andreotta Calò
- Wael Shawky
- Sara Almutlaq
- Aurora Fonda
- Zaira Carrer
- Amina Diab
- Ibrahim Kombarji
- Bianca Pedron
Institutions
- Saudi Ministry of Culture
- Venice Biennale
- Saudi National Museum
- King Abdulaziz Public Library
- Yale University
- Bodleian Library
- Leiden University
- Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Vatican Library
- Daniel Crouch Rare Books
- Peacock Maps
- Galleria Continua
- Abbazia di San Gregorio
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Lisson Gallery
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Grand Canal
- Antwerp
- Belgium
- Oxford
- United Kingdom
- Leiden
- Netherlands
- New Haven
- United States
- Paris
- France
- Vatican City
- London
- Tokyo
- Japan
- New York
- China
- Hormuz
- Calicut
- Cochin
- Arabian Peninsula
- AlUla
- Northern Europe
- Sydney
- Australia