A new exhibition titled "A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World" has opened in Venice, presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture in tandem with the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Held at the Abbazia di San Gregorio from 6 May to 22 November 2026, the show is curated by Sara Almutlaq and Aurora Fonda, with associate curators Zaira Carrer and Amina Diab. It features historical maps and contemporary artworks by artists including Wael Shawky, Nasser Al Salem, Matilde Sambo, Monira Al Qadiri, Shilpa Gupta, Reena Saini Kallat, Manal AlDowayan, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Ibrahim Mahama, Trevor Paglen, Eva & Franco Mattes, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, and Yoko Ono, exploring cartography as an imaginative and ideological act rather than a neutral science.
This exhibition matters because it challenges Eurocentric narratives of mapping and geography, particularly regarding the Arabian Peninsula, by juxtaposing historical artefacts like early-modern European maps with objects from the region that reveal complex trade and cultural networks. By staging a dialogue between past and present, and incorporating digital cartography and bodily experience, the show offers a polyphonic view of the Middle East's history and contemporary relevance, contributing to broader conversations about power, myth, and representation in the art world during a major international biennial.