NASSER AL SALEM AT VENICE 2026: A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World
Current exhibition
Overview
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.
Maps are conduits for the poetry and harmony of the universe, as in the courtyard installation by Nasser Al Salem and the site-specific works by Matilde Sambo that guide visitors through the colonnade of the Abbazia di San Gregorio. The site-specific installation on the Abbazia’s façade by Monira Al Qadiri reconnects us to the journeys Arab travelers made to Northern Europe one thousand years ago. Shilpa Gupta and Reena Saini Kallat investigate the fragile, transient nature of maps, while artist Manal AlDowayan extends our elemental sense of belonging provided through cartography to the geographical landscapes of AlUla.
Works
