Vatican’s sound pavilion

The Vatican’s pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will center on sound instead of objects, with new works by Brian Eno, FKA Twigs, Patti Smith, and Jim Jarmusch. (theartnewspaper.com) The show is called “The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul,” and it will run from May 9 to November 22 during the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. (labiennale.org) The Holy See said 24 artists were selected for the project, which is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective. (artnews.com) The pavilion will be split between two Venice sites: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites in Cannaregio and the Complesso di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Castello. (artsy.net) In the garden, visitors will hear commissioned pieces on headphones, and Soundwalk Collective has built a site-specific instrument that will “listen” to the space in real time. (theartnewspaper.com) At Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, the Vatican plans a contemporary version of a medieval scriptorium, with Alexander Kluge’s final work, multilingual texts, artist books by Ilda David, and new monastery architecture by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio. (artnews.com) The project is built around Saint Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century Benedictine abbess, composer, poet, and healer whose chants and writings shaped the commissions. (theartnewspaper.com) The Vatican tied the pavilion to the Biennale’s main exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” the 2026 edition conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh and carried out by La Biennale with her family’s support. (labiennale.org) The artist list reaches beyond pop and film into experimental music, poetry, and visual art, including Devonté Hynes, Meredith Monk, Moor Mother, Otobong Nkanga, Precious Okoyomon, Raúl Zurita, Suzanne Ciani, and the Benedictine Nuns of the Abbey of St. Hildegard Eibingen. (artnews.com) The Holy See first joined the Venice Biennale in 2013, and its 2024 pavilion drew attention by staging work at the Giudecca women’s prison. This year, it is returning with a pavilion built around listening, prayer, and the act of moving through Venice by ear. (artnews.com)