diff --git a/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/tool/drawing.py b/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/tool/drawing.py
index 74b74c6e0b7..516dacd06a6 100644
--- a/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/tool/drawing.py
+++ b/src/blenderbim/blenderbim/tool/drawing.py
@@ -1734,7 +1734,9 @@ def activate_drawing(cls, camera):
                     has_context = True
                     break
 
-            if not has_context:
+            # don't hide IfcAnnotations as some of them might exist without representations
+            # e.g. with ObjectType = SYMBOL
+            if not has_context and not element.is_a("IfcAnnotation"):
                 obj.hide_set(True)
                 obj.hide_render = True