Holy See’s sonic Biennale pavilion
The Holy See pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale will be sound‑led and features participants including Patti Smith and Brian Eno, delivering commissioned compositions and immersive listening experiences. (wallpaper.com) (hubemag.com)
The Vatican’s 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion will be led by sound, not objects, with new works from Patti Smith, Brian Eno and 22 other participants. (wallpaper.com) The project is titled *The Ear is the Eye of the Soul* and will open during the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, which runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with previews on May 6, 7 and 8. (labiennale.org) The Holy See said the pavilion will unfold across two Venice sites: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites in Cannaregio and the Complesso di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Castello. Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers are curating it with Soundwalk Collective. (artsy.net) The roster stretches beyond rock and pop into film, poetry and contemporary art. Reported participants include FKA Twigs, Dev Hynes, Meredith Monk, Jim Jarmusch, Precious Okoyomon and Otobong Nkanga, alongside Smith and Eno. (theartnewspaper.com) Most of the commissions are tied to Saint Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century Benedictine abbess, composer and mystic. Organizers said her writings and music shaped the pavilion’s focus on listening, contemplation and “sound prayer.” (artnews.com) That marks a clear shift in medium for a national pavilion format better known for sculpture, painting and large installations. Coverage of the project describes headphone-based and site-responsive listening experiences rather than a conventional walk-through of visual works. (hubemag.com) (artepassante.it) The pavilion also extends the Vatican’s recent strategy of using the Biennale to stage contemporary art in unusual settings. In 2024, the Holy See’s art pavilion was installed inside Venice’s Giudecca women’s prison and was visited by Pope Francis in April that year. (vaticannews.va 1) (vaticannews.va 2) The Holy See’s participation in the Venice Art Biennale dates back to 2013, when it mounted its first pavilion under the Pontifical Council for Culture. The current pavilion comes from the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Vatican department that now oversees those cultural projects. (cultura.va 1) (cultura.va 2) The wider 2026 Biennale will proceed under the title *In Minor Keys*, the exhibition framework left by the late curator Koyo Kouoh. The Holy See’s answer inside that edition is a pavilion built around hearing, with 24 commissions asking visitors to stop and listen. (labiennale.org) (wallpaper.com)
