Global view maps show the Earth’s curved surface as if seen from space. Spheres of Influence, an exhibition curated by California Map Society Student Exhibition Contest winner Champ Turner, traces the evolving uses of this unique type of map.
The global view map emerged in the 1930s and rose to prominence during the turbulent events of the mid-20th century. Widely published in magazines and newspapers, these maps use persuasive visual language to interpret complex international conflicts for the general public. Their emergence coincided with the rise of long-distance air travel and a changing perception of global security. Introduced to a mass audience by cartographer Richard Edes Harrison and rapidly adopted by his contemporaries, the global view countered the prevailing sense of American isolation and challenged audiences to reconsider the relative proximity of international allies and adversaries.
Using the global view map has allowed cartographers to wield significant influence over the narrative of global conflicts throughout the twentieth century. In this exhibition, we invite you to examine how cartographers, publications, and governments used the global view to inform, persuade and subtly shape our sense of place in the world.
This exhibition is also available to view digitally.Venue: David Rumsey Map CenterURL: https://events.stanford.edu/event/spheres-of-influence-proje[...]
This small exhibition is devoted to the representation of Gaul and of Roman roads through ancient maps. It is organised by the Gallo-Roman Museum of Waudrez, located on the ancient road leading from Bavay to Cologne (Vodgoriacum on Peutinger’s table).
The accompanying catalogue is remarkable; it reproduces all maps in large size (35x27 cm) and provides QR codes to access high-resolution copies (25 EUR).URL: https://statioromana.org/index.php/news-2/
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London,
UKThe exhibition presents a selection of the maps drawn by Ursula K. Le Guin for her books. Many of this maps have never been exhibited before. Le Guin’s maps offer journeys of consciousness beyond conventional cartography, from the archipelagos of Earthsea to the talismanic maps of Always Coming Home.
More information here.Venue: AA Gallery, 36 Bedford Square, WC1B 3ES
This exhibit explores how the British, Ottoman and American empires documented the human and non-human geography, resources, and landscapes of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It features historical maps and artifacts from the collections of the Branner Earth Sciences Library and the David Rumsey Map Center alongside cartographic visualizations created by the OpenGulf research collective.
Featured materials include maps derived from a dataset collected from the British Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Arabia, and Oman created using QGIS, including the map of mentions of date palms displayed here. By placing these historical materials and contemporary analyses in conversation, we uncover a genealogy of geographical thinking alongside the power structures embedded in imperial and colonial record-keeping. This exhibit aims to illustrate and critically engage the breadth, depth, and nature of colonial and imperial knowledge production regarding the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, highlighting its varied expressions in texts, maps, and charts.
This exhibition is also available to view digitally.Venue: Mitchell Earth Sciences, Branner Earth Sciences Library & Map Collections
Sea charts are indispensable on board ships. But how did the sea map come into being and why? The cartography exhibition De zee in kaart explores the history of sea charts with atlases and measuring instruments.Venue: Het ScheepvaartmuseumURL: https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.com/whats-on/exhibitions/ch[...]
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Marceille,
FranceFrom the Moon to the Evening Star, from the constellation of the Great Bear to the rings of Saturn, the celestial vault and the stars that inhabit it are the subject of immense fascination.
The exhibition ‘Reading the Sky’ focuses on the understanding of the night sky in the Mediterranean, as seen from Earth. From the first records of the ancient Mesopotamian sky to the popularity of contemporary astrology, via medieval Arab-Muslim astronomy and the Galilean revolution, societies in the Mediterranean basin have looked to the stars to situate themselves in the cosmos and organise themselves on Earth. Knowledge and beliefs have circulated between the shores, forming a common culture of the sky that still nourishes our contemporary approach to the stars.
More information here.
Step into the shadows at Secret Maps, a major new exhibition revealing the stories hidden in some of history’s most mysterious maps.
Maps have always been more than just tools for navigation – in the hand of governments, groups and individuals, maps create and control knowledge. In Secret Maps, we trace the levels of power, coercion and secrecy that lie behind maps from the 14th century to the present day, and uncover the invisible forces that draw and distort the world around us.
More information on the exhibition page.Venue: British Library
Analyzing the visual language of maps. Lines are the foundation of the visual language of maps. For centuries, mapmakers have experimented with the placement, density, and purpose of lines like these to make maps seem simple and objective. These lines are never as straightforward as they seem. This exhibition follows lines on maps to their extremes. By exploring how maps use lines to make the world legible, the exhibition will bring you through examples of mapmakers and artists who have created, bent, and broken these linear rules. By following these lines, you will find maps to be more complex and more motley than they ever imagined!
All information here.Venue: The Newberry Library
