Cartography - Archive of Exhibitions Which Closed in 2021


Please see Cartography - Calendar of Exhibitions for a current calendar of exhibitions.
Click here for archive of past exhibitions.


June 22, 2020 - January 15, 2021 - Henderson, Nevada
The exhibit Lines Across the Land - Historic Maps of Southern Nevada can be seen at Clark County Museum, 1830 S. Boulder Highway. This exhibit displays historic and contemporary maps selected from the Museum collections to look at southern Nevada, its connections in physical space, and its sense of place and shared community. The exhibit looks at Nevada's changing boundaries over time, from territory to state, through a migrating eastern boundary line and the addition of its southern tip, the creation of Clark County and the growth in southern Nevada's communities over time and space.



August 19, 2020 - January 31, 2021 – Macao
Organized by the Archives of Macao, 91-93, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, the exhibition Pirates in the Waters of Macao (1854-1935) will examine the phenomenon of piracy in the surrounding waters of Macao and the multiple meanings it had for Macao. The exhibition features a selection of over 100 documents, maps and photographs from the Archives' collection that addresses the theme of piracy in the Pearl River Delta region, thereby revealing the diversity and thematic amplitude of the documentation, as well as developing knowledge about the multiple meanings of the phenomenon of piracy for Macao in the second half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century.



Until February 16, 2021 – Montreal
History and Memory showcases almost 500 artifacts, images, archival documents, and early maps from the Stewart Museum’s vast collection showing the influence of European civilizations in New France and North America. The planispheres, star charts and maps of North and South America and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans amply illustrate the expanding geographic knowledge gained by Europeans as they made their way across continents, that until then, had remained terra incognita. Added to these artifacts is a major collection of globes and navigation instruments: mariner’s compass, traverse board, nocturnal, astrolabe, sundial, and maritime hourglass from the 18th century. The Stewart Museum is located at the British military depot on St. Helen's Island, Parc Jean-Drapeau.



October 22, 2020 - March 28, 2021 – Seville
The General Archive of the Indies opens its doors with the exhibition La Fábrica del Mundo [The World's Factory], which aims to show the evolution of the image of the World during the Spanish explorations over more than three centuries. The exhibition comprises more than fifty documents, the vast majority from the General Archive of the Indies, which, together with some maps from other institutions, can be seen in the upper gallery of the old Casa Lonja de Sevilla, Av. De la Constitución, 3.



September 10, 2020 – March 31, 2021 - Portland, Maine
On March 15th, 1820, the Eastern District of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts became the independent state of Maine. Featuring maps of Maine, Mapping Maine: The Land and its Peoples, 1677–1842, is a bicentennial exhibition which can be viewed at the Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine.



September 12, 2020 – April 23, 2021 - Hershey, Pennsylvania
Years ago, oil companies used road maps to promote their brands of fuel and to assist the traveling public. Billions of road maps were given out at gas and service stations. The Look...They gave me a Map! exhibit, guest curated by the Road Map Collectors Association, harkens back to days gone by. The exhibit presents the artistry, destination images, and geographic highlights that made maps glove box-sized resources for travelers. Exhibit can be seen Members 1st Floor Gallery, AACA Museum, Inc., 161 Museum Drive.



February 7, 2021 - April 25, 2021 - Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
The most beautiful, the most expensive, the largest: all superlatives apply to the Atlas Maior that Johan Blaeu marketed in 1662. In 11 bulky volumes with no fewer than 594 hand-colored maps and more than 3,000 pages of text, Blaeu brings together the geographic knowledge of his time. For the first time, the 11 parts of the much-discussed acquisition are presented to the public in their entirety at the Mercator Museum, Zamanstraat 49D.



April 1-30, 2021 - Winter Garden, Florida
Explore Find Your Way Home at Winter Garden Heritage Museum, 21 E. Plant St. Explore West Orange County’s iconic cartographic history and view examples of rare maps from the Heritage Archive that date back to the West Orange settlement in the 19th century. Museum is open Thursday & Friday, 11am – 3pm.



April 2021 - Lake Havasu City, Arizona
The Lake Havasu Museum of History presents
The Lost Art of Cartography; a new exhibition depicting maps and surveying equipment. On display are various maps which date back to 1908. The museum has a wide variety of maps in its collection, including hand-drawn maps, topographical maps, physical maps, road maps and maps showing the movements of native peoples that led them to settle along this stretch of the Colorado River. Also on view are some antique land surveying equipment.



February 9, 2021 - May 2, 2021 – Venice
The Querini Stampalia Foundation, Campo Santa Maria Formosa, features the exhibition Once upon a time there was the plague. Venice and the containment measures of the disease between 500 and 600. Through ancient volumes, prints, and maps, the exhibition traces the history of the great plagues of the past, the propagation of the disease, the hypotheses on the origin and transmission of the disease between medicine and astrology, fear and superstition.



April 28, 2021 - May 7, 2021 - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
If you’re a fan of history, this is one exhibition you don’t want to miss. Organised by Sharjah Book Authority, Tales from the East will be held at the authority’s headquarters in Sharjah from 8pm until midnight. The exhibition features early written materials including books and manuscripts, and a collection of rare artefacts. Visitors can also view the first edition of Katib Çelebi’s masterpiece, “The Mirror of the World,” published in Constantinople by Ibrahim Müteferrika in 1732. It is illustrated with 40 coloured maps and plates including the famous map of the Arabian peninsula drawn by Ahmed Al-Qirimi. Also featured are globes from the 17th to the 20th centuries, including an exceptional and rare pair of terrestrial and celestial 49cm coloured parquet globes by Mattaheus Greuter, issued in Rome in 1632 and 1636. It also contains astrological models of the universe, and climate and wind maps, among others.



February 15, 2021 - May 31, 2021 – Philadelphia
The difficult task of an exhibit devoted to North Philadelphia is defining its contours. How do we determine the coordinates of North Philadelphia? Understandably for a gallery venue at Temple University, the curators of History of a Neighborhood: Mapping North Philadelphia, 1837–1990 narrow the focus to a fairly circumspect boundary, primarily the neighborhoods along Broad Street and within the orbit of Temple’s campus. If you look up historic maps of the area prior to 1880 you are reminded that long before North Broad Street developed as a bustling residential and industrial corridor rail lines crisscrossed it to connect older economic hubs. History of a Neighborhood: Mapping North Philadelphia, 1837–1990 is on view at Temple University’s Special Collections Research Center in Charles Library, 1900 N. 13th Street.



May 22, 2020 – May 2021 - Boston
From 17th century attempts to woo European settlers to the “New World” with maps that exaggerated natural resources, to a recent “Sharpie-enhanced” weather map designed to shape the politics of disaster planning, maps and visual data have always been used as tools for manipulating reality. In the wide-ranging free exhibition, Bending Lines: Maps and Data from Distortion to Deception, the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St., takes a critical look at how to understand the world as it appears in geographic representations. The show features both historical and contemporary documents, as well as interactives designed to engage visitors with the power of persuasive mapmaking.



April 23, 2021 - July 22, 2021 - Taiwan The National Palace Museum opened a new exhibition to show several full-scale maps that demonstrate historical developments in Taiwan and transportation routes in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The exhibition, titled Stories of Ancient Maps, offers visitors a rare chance to see full-scale maps of several meters in length and to "discover stories of the time in the detailed depiction in these maps," the museum said in a statement. The four maps of Taiwan in the exhibition, drawn between 1666 and the mid-18th century, show how the Qing government's understanding of Taiwan improved over the century, from seeing Taiwan as only an island of military importance to appreciating its natural scenery, Indigenous people, culture and customs.



April 2, 2021 – July 24, 2021 – Chicago
A new exhibit at the Newberry Library, 60 W Walton St., ¡Viva la Libertad! Latin America and the Age of Revolutions,” uses maps, manuscripts and rare books from the Newberry Library collection to illustrate the trials and triumphs of countries from Mexico to Chile as they fought for their own independence. These countries faced many challenges, including how best to govern, allocate resources, and treat their diverse populations.



June 10, 2021 - August 15, 2021 - Midland, Texas
Five Centuries of Mexican Maps can be seen in the Museum of the Southwest, 1705 W. Missouri Ave. Exquisite maps from the 15th through 20th centuries chart the conception and colonization of Mexico from the periods of discovery, settlement, war, and modernity. Featured cartographic styles range from maritime, to military, to topographic; their presentation from metaphorical to practical. The purposes behind these maps extend from religious, to political, to financial, and more. Selections from Sul Ross State University’s Museum of the Big Bend’s Yana and Marty Davis Map Collection are paired with art and artifacts from the permanent collection of the Museum of the Southwest to present an immersive and layered interpretation of Mexico’s historical identity.



June 4, 2021 - August 31, 2021 - Duluth, Minnesota
Guests of the Glensheen, 3300 London Road, get the chance to take in a new summer exhibit that features more obscure items in the Congdons’ collection. Glensheen Obscura will display instruments, broken dolls and rare maps at the new exhibit.



June 22, 2021 - September 16, 2021 - Deventer, Netherlands
The exhibition De wereld gaat open [The world is opening] can be seen in the Library Center (Stromarkt 18) and the Athenaeum Library ( Klooster 12). A number of unique books from the collection of the Athenaeum Library can be seen at both locations, including (pocket) atlases, maps, travel descriptions and prints.The exhibition can be viewed free of charge during opening hours of the Library Center (Monday to Saturday) and the Athenaeum Library (Tuesday and Thursday only).



June 4, 2021 – September 17, 2021 - Plymouth, New Hampshire
Not only does the White Mountain region have a long history of maps and map makers, it also boasts one of the richest assortment of map designs of any mountainous region. Each map describes specific places and routes, and also tells a story of the knowledge, curiosity, purposes, pleasures, and design ideas of the people of its time. The Museum of the White Mountains, 34 Highland St. on the campus of Plymouth State University, exhibit Wayfinding: Maps of the White Mountains features maps from the far and recent past, as well as new map tools for today’s hikers, tourists, scientists, weekend explorers, and enthusiasts.



June 30, 2021 - October 3, 2021 - Dennis, Massachusetts
Cape Cod Museum of Art, 60 Hope Ln, summer exhibition is cARTography: Envisioning Cape Cod. cARTography is multi-faceted exhibition consisting of over 30 historical maps of Cape Cod dating from 1570; two monumental recently restored art deco murals; "Our Story"- a Native American perspective; and an immersive installation by local, contemporary artist and cartographer.



September 11, 2021 - October 5, 2021 - Civitella del Lago, Italy
The
Associazione Roberto Almagia, Comune di Baschi, and Associazione Culturale Civitellarte sponsor a cartographic exhibition Italian cartography in the Napoleonic era (1796-1815). Exhibition can be seen in Sala Brizzi. A 265 page catalog describing 108 items is available. Additional information from <info(at)civitellarte.it> or <info(at)associazionealmagia.it>.



November 16, 2020 - October 9, 2021 - Kingfisher, Oklahoma
The Chisholm Trail Museum, 605 Zellers Ave., has opened a special temporary exhibit featuring historical maps from the Oklahoma Historical Society, as well as historical surveying equipment from the museum. Maps and Mapmaking: Historical Maps of Oklahoma was created in partnership with the Oklahoma Historical Society’s John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center at the Oklahoma History Center. The exhibit highlights a collection of more than 20 historical maps of Oklahoma dating back to 1806. Additionally, the exhibit features historical surveying and mapmaking tools and equipment, some dating as far back as the 1840s.



February 2021 - October 2021 - Springfield, Tennessee
The current exhibit at the Robertson County History Museum, 124 W 6th Ave, celebrates the 225th Anniversary of Tennessee and of Robertson County. For those Museum visitors who enjoy old maps, there are plenty to “peruse.” A copy of an 1814 Tennessee map shows the Mero District separated from the Washington District by Cherokee lands. One map, published as the “Aboriginal Map” in 1886, shows the Military Reservation of 1783 and the Western Purchase of 1818. Stations and settlements of East Tennessee are also noted on this map. On one 1795 map, the State is labeled as “Tennassee.” It was published for “emigrants” coming into the frontier.



April 3, 2021 – October 10, 2021 - North Lincolnshire, England
The North Lincolnshire Museum, Oswald Road, features two cartographic exhibitions. Maps have always been used to make sense of and bring order to the world around us. They help us understand not just where we are, but also who we are. The exhibition On The Map will use maps to tell stories of war and conflict, power and control, our changing landscape, and our priorities and identities. It will show the development of the railway, military campaigns and changing local landscapes. The exhibition Colours Beneath Your Feet tells the story of William ‘Strata’ Smith, who created the first ever nationwide, detailed geological map of England, Wales and parts of Scotland. The centrepiece will be an 1815 copy of Smith’s beautiful, hand-coloured map of parts of the UK on loan from Dudley Museum and Art Gallery and the Larwood family.



August 23, 2021 - October 15, 2021 – Shreveport, Louisiana
The James Smith Noel Collection, located on the third floor of the LSUS Noel Memorial Library, unveiled its latest exhibit, Cartographic Curiosities. Guests are welcome to visit from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The exhibit showcases cartography featuring maps from around the world dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Maps have served as detailed visual representations of the human desire to explore and learn. From oblique city views, to the creation of orderly grids, to elaborate charts plotting travel to distant lands, maps have grown in scope and complexity alongside humanity.



September 1, 2021 - October 18, 2021 – Paris
A key administrative cog at the heart of Napoleon's power, the Secretary of State prepares the emperor's work. To make him quickly understand a project and get his support, maps, plans or drawings are attached to administrative reports. Initially with a utilitarian vocation, these figurative documents strike us today by their aesthetic quality. If most of them are due to now unknown authors, some are drawn by the best hands, the painters Jacques-Louis David or Jean-Baptiste Isabey, the engraver Dominique-Vivant Denon, to name only a few famous names. The exhibition Dessiner pour Napoléon / Trésors de la secrétairerie d'Etat impériale at National Archives, 60 rue des Francs Bourgeois, displays more than a hundred of these remarkable documents shedding light on the development of communications and industry, regional planning and many other subjects. The exhibition perfectly illustrates the evocative and powerful maxim that we attribute to Napoleon: "a good sketch is better than a long speech"!



July 1, 2021 – October 24, 2021 - Los Angeles
The Fowler Museum at UCLA, 308 Charles E Young Dr N, exhibition The Map and the Territory: 100 Years of Collecting at UCLA distills the vast holdings of UCLA’s diverse collections into a single exhibition. Some 160 representative objects tell stories and make new meanings in exciting and unexpected ways. Organized by the Fowler Museum in partnership with the Hammer Museum and the UCLA Library, and featuring works from additional campus collections, the exhibition juxtaposes rare books and manuscripts, historic maps and prints, contemporary paintings and drawings, abstract animations, ceramics, musical instruments, bird and animal specimens, meteorites, and more.



June 11, 2021 - November 5, 2021 - Lake Forest, Illinois
The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, 509 E Deerpath Rd, is delighted to unveil our new exhibit Map Stories: The Hidden History in the Maps of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in the Katherine Bell Hale Gallery. This exhibition provides an exciting and rare opportunity to see 19th and 20th century maps from our extensive collection--from hand-drawn maps of the early village to road maps for that new fangled automobile. Stop by for a chance to see the history of our community through a different vantage point. Exhibit is open Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday 1-4 pm.



September 11, 2021 - November 19, 2021 - Indiana, Pennsylvania
From the subjective to the objective, the personal to the scientific and even fictional, maps help us explore places and cultures past and present from the local to the far reaches of space. In Maps: An Experience in Finding Our Way, art, science, history and geography come together representing a way across the universe of place, distance and experience. The exhibition is a campus and community collaborative effort curated by Rhonda Yeager, Bobbie Zapor and Laura Krulikowski with support from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Museum Board of Directors and features maps, artifacts and art on loan from the Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County, IUP Department of Art and Design, IUP Department of Geoscience, the Institute for Mine Mapping, Archival Procedures and Safety (IMAPS), IUP Libraries Special Collections and University Archives, and artists Jacob Wareham and Chuck Olson in addition to pieces from the University Museum’s collection. The University Museum is located on the first floor of Sutton Hall, 1011 South Drive. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 2 to 6:30 p.m.; Thursday from noon to 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. The museum is closed Sunday, Monday and university holidays.



May 25, 2021 - December 12, 2021 – Athens
The American School of Classical Studies and the Gennadius Library, Souidias 61, presents The Free and the Brave: American Philhellenes and the Glorious Struggle of the Greeks (1776-1866), an exhibition of rare publications, pamphlets, memoirs, newspapers, engravings, travelogues, maps and poems that testify to the breadth and depth of American support for the 1821 Greek uprising against Ottoman rule. For the purposes of the exhibition, the Gennadius Library has combined its own archives with loaned items from the Collection of Michael and Dimitra Varkarakis, the Archives of the British School of Athens, the National Historical Museum, the Diplomatic and Historical Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Konstantinos Arniakos. The exhibition is sponsored by the US Embassy in Greece as part of its programs to celebrate the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, titled USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship. The exhibition is open Thursday-Sunday from 12.00 to 18.00 free of charge.



May 13, 2021 – December 18, 2021 - Portland, Maine
We are pleased to announce the opening of Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education's new gallery exhibition: Where Will We Go From Here? Travel in the Age of COVID-19. The exhibition pairs historical maps, travel guides, and travel ephemera from our collections with contemporary reflections (crowd-sourced) on where we didn’t go in 2020-2021. This moving and reflective show asks us to consider all that we have collectively lost during the pandemic, and to think about where, as individuals and as a community, we will go from here. The OML gallery is free and open to the public (by appointment only) Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 4pm, and Saturday, 10am-3pm. Gallery visits are timed tickets. To book your timed ticket, please click here. Please enter the Glickman Family Library and proceed through the arcade to the Osher Map Library reference room and gallery entrance at 314 Forest Ave.



October 11, 2021 – December 20, 2021 - Milan
The
Associazione Roberto Almagia, Comune di Baschi, and Associazione Culturale Civitellarte sponsor a cartographic exhibition Italian cartography in the Napoleonic era (1796-1815). Exhibition can be seen in Casa Manzoni, Via Gerolamo Morone, 1. A 265 page catalog describing 108 items is available. Additional information from <info(at)civitellarte.it> or <info(at)associazionealmagia.it>.



October 1, 2021 - December 30, 2021- Minneapolis
Kunyu wanguo quantu 坤輿萬國全圖 [Complete Geographical Map of Ten Thousand Countries] is the oldest surviving map in Chinese to show the Americas. It is a xylograph (wood block print) on six panels of fine native paper (made with bamboo fiber), each panel measuring approximately 608.33 mm x 1820 mm (2 feet by 5.75 feet). Li Zhizao (1565-1630), a Chinese mathematician, astronomer and geographer, who worked on the project with Matteo Ricci (1553-1610), may have engraved the map. It was printed by Zhang Wentao of Hangzhou, possibly an official printer of the Ming court. The Bell Library's “1602 World Map of Matteo Ricci” will be on exhibit in the Bell Gallery in the Elmer L. Andersen Library, suite 15, 222 21st Ave S.