This exhibition invites visitors on a journey to the frontiers of reality and fiction, exploring the links between cartography and the imagination. For while maps usually trace the contours of known lands, they also give shape to imaginary territories that extend, interpret or personalise the real world.URL: https://www.bnf.fr/fr/agenda/cartes-imaginaires
Transit maps hold a unique place in both the urban environment and the cultural zeitgeist, often transcending their utilitarian purposes to become symbols of cities and nations alike. Iconic transit maps such as Charles Beck's 1933 map of the London Underground or Vignelli's 1972 map of the New York subway have been lauded as cultural touchstones that both were inspired by the past and have influenced the future.
You Are Here is an exhibition that explores the unique relationship between transit maps and the identity of their subjects. A transportation system can become synonymous with a city or nation, reflecting its change over time, spearheading cartographic innocations, or reifying an entirely new vision for space and place. The individual maps in the exhibit serve as a window into the histories of the places they represent and the history of transit cartography as a whole.
Curated by the winner of the California Map Society Student Exhibition Competition Jayne Kilander, will be on view through Friday, August 21, 2026. It is also available to view digitally.
Bruges developed throughout the Middle Ages as a world city, a hub in global networks of trade, culture and politics. At its peak, Bruges seemed to be the epicentre of the world. But the city was never isolated. Bruges was constantly in contact with other regions and cultures through trade, travel, faith and ideas. And it was precisely these connections that gave it an important role in world history.Venue: BRUSK, Dijver 12 - BrugesURL: https://bruskbrugge.be/en/calendar/exhibitions/bigger-pictur[...]
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Antwerp,
BelgiumVNSM’s third exhibition in CEPA’s ‘Anker’ gallery features items from the NavigArte Collection, alongside instruments from the museum’s own collection and works from the MAS.
More information here.Venue: CEPA, Brouwersvliet 33 2000 Antwerp
For centuries, maps have served as powerful instruments for explaining concepts, disseminating ideas and ultimately telling stories. Rare and remarkable examples from literature and film will bear witness to this tradition in the exhibition.
The exhibition’s distinctive character lies in the dialogue between two exceptional collections: “Ex Carta”, one of the most extensive collections dedicated to fictional cartography and the renowned holdings of the Department of Maps and Panoramas at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich, whose cartographic collections rank among the most significant in Switzerland. At the intersection of these collections – particularly through Tolkien’s work and its relationship to Swiss cartographic history – emerges a curatorial concept that makes the reciprocal relationship between reality and fiction tangible in an unprecedented way.
More information here.
