The Sunderland Collection

Adieu Lyon!

The 30th edition of the biannual International Conference on the History of Cartography (ICHC) 🗺in the 'gastronomic capital of France' was a delectable smorgasbord of presentations on some of the latest scholarship around the history of maps and map making.

Speakers from a range of disciplines presented an array of papers for discussion, from the reevaluation of Chinese cartography, to indigenous sources of knowledge; from mapping river systems to mountain ranges. Plenty of food for thought!

Also a wonderful opportunity to meet and catch up with curators, map librarians, and scholars from around the world.

Many thanks to the organizer and hosts

🌍🌎🌏🗺🧭

Ahead of each edition of the International Conference on the History of Cartography, the map curators group meets for a pre-conference. This year, it was generously hosted by the Bibliotheque National in Paris.

We heard talks on issues that are of critical importance to curators and collection managers today, including how to spot and deal with fakes, how to care for digital maps, and AI.

The BnF also prepared a wondrous display of special collection items and a behind the scenes tour to the storage areas.

The Sunderland Collection's beautiful reproduction of Berlinghieri's world map (1482) has been selected for the Royal Academy of the Arts Summer Exhibition! Now on until 18 August 2024.

Created by master printer Kristina Chan of PPlaintiff Press this limited edition intaglio print is hand pressed and hand coloured, a process taking several days.

The print is displayed in the Large Weston Room, which was curated by Cornelia Parker. We are honoured to have been selected by the Summer Exhibition panel, and in particular by such an iconic artist.

Visit Oculi Mundi for the story of how this stunning work was produced using heritage materials and techniques.

The inaugural exhibition of The Sunderland Collection Art Programme will take place soon!

Fathi Hassan: Shifting Sands which will open at Frieze’s no. 9 Cork Street on 31 May 2024.

Having spent the last year considering and immersing himself in the Collection, Fathi Hassan’s response to the antique maps and atlases will present new and historical work in which the artist explores his relationship to cartography, culture and intellectual heritage.

Born in Cairo in 1957 to Egyptian and Nubian parents, Fathi Hassan gained prominence in the 1980s. In 1988, he became one of the first artists of African heritage to be included in the Venice Art Biennale. Having moved from Egypt in his early twenties to study at Naples Academy of Fine Arts, Hassan spent decades living and working in Italy.

Graduating in 1984, Fathi became an important member of the thriving, avant-garde art scene. The Wild Neapolitans whom Hassan exhibited alongside, flourished in opposition to the failing politics, corruption and decay that the city experienced at the time. 1980’s Naples built on the spirit of Arte Povera and those associated with the movement, which took a radical stance against the establishment, attacking the values of institutions, government, industry and culture. Like Hassan Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Cy Twombly and Joseph Beuys, were all attracted to the revolutionary feel of the city.

In his most recent work, Fathi continues to expand upon and explore the space between meaning, memory and symbolism which he developed during those seminal, Neapolitan years. His own multicultural history and diasporic identity find a home in response to the cartographic treasures of The Sunderland Collection.

Fathi Hassan: Shifting Sands
Frieze’s No.9 Cork Street
31 May – 15 June 2024

Layered history -- ancient objects have often undergone periodic repair, overprinting, or reuse. Here in Plovdiv, we found examples of beautiful mosaic layering in the Great Basilica, which dates back to the 4th century.
The site itself has reused over time as a temple, church, graveyard, and residential area before being eventually uncovered and excavated very recently.
It also features famous mosaics of birds I ckuding peacocks, a Christian symbol of immortality

Never judge a book by its cover...

Testing day! The q42 and Fabrique team is in the house testing new areas of ... super excited to share more soon!

Last Thursday, The custodian, Helen Sunderland-Cohen, had the privilege of speaking to the students of the Cultural Data Sculpting class at The Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+) at in Lausanne, led by Professor Sarah Kenderdine.

Here, the students are exploring innovative applications for visualizing and interacting with cultural heritage in a digital setting – and for the second year The has provided super high-resolution images of maps as a data set for this work.

Many thanks to technologist and architect for sharing his expertise on digital maps and storytelling too!

Announcing The Sunderland Collection Art Programme! We are thrilled to launch our new programme, directed by British art expert Beth Greenacre.

The programme invites artists from around the world to engage with The Sunderland Collection’s antique maps and atlases, and to create works in response to them. It is intended to provide a unique focal point for artists to examine themes that inspire them, which could be a particular concept, material, or process. Through the Art Programme, we hope to build a growing, interactive, dynamic forum for artistic expression and the exchange of ideas.

Each artist’s journey will culminate in an exhibition of their works on Oculi-Mundi.com and offline, creating a diverse programme over many years.

Helen Sunderland-Cohen, who oversees The Sunderland Collectionrlandcollection, says “Artists are unique visionaries through which to contemplate the world through maps and the concepts they embody. In fact, many well-known artists also worked on the production of old maps, such as Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein. We hope that the Art Programme will build a dynamic bridge between the rich context and artistic qualities of antique cultural heritage items, and the present day.”

Find the artists: saravanderbeekstudio, Sonia Barrettt Simon Bejer Kristina Chan, Vivienne Koorland, and Fathi Hassan Artist. Together, they form the initial cohort of international artists working across a range of media to interact with the Collection.

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Welcome, fellow traveller!

Featuring world maps, celestial maps, atlases, books of knowledge and globes, The Sunderland Collection is a unique curation showcasing the evolution of knowledge, as well as a striking celebration of human exploration, discovery and sheer wonder.

Our aim is to make the Collection as accessible as possible for enjoyment and study.

Honouring human achievement and skills across the centuries, our vision is to be inclusive and dynamic, moving forward as part of a global community of engaged and curious travellers.

The journey of human discovery is ongoing – and it beckons!