Vatican’s sound pavilion

The Vatican’s 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion will be built around sound, with FKA twigs, Brian Eno and Patti Smith among 24 invited artists. (theartnewspaper.com) The Holy See said on April 14 that the project, called *The Ear is the Eye of the Soul*, will open during the 61st International Art Exhibition, which runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with previews on May 6, 7 and 8. (vaticannews.va) (labiennale.org) The pavilion will unfold across two Venice sites: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelite in Cannaregio and the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice complex in Castello. In the garden, visitors will hear 20 new commissions made with Soundwalk Collective and a site-specific instrument that listens to the garden in real time. (theartnewspaper.com) (vaticannews.va) The Vatican is anchoring the show in Saint Hildegard of Bingen, the German Benedictine abbess, poet, healer and composer who lived from 1098 to 1179. Pope Benedict the Sixteenth formally declared Hildegard a saint and a Doctor of the Church in 2012. (theartnewspaper.com) (vaticannews.va) That choice shifts the Holy See away from a pavilion led by painting or sculpture and toward listening, voice, silence and music. The Vatican said the exhibition takes the form of a “sonic prayer” tied to contemplation and slower attention. (theartnewspaper.com) (vaticannews.va) The Biennale’s main exhibition theme also points in that direction. La Biennale says *In Minor Keys*, the exhibition conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh, will proceed with her family’s support after her death in May 2025. (labiennale.org) (artnews.com) Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers are curating the pavilion, and the artist list stretches across music, film, poetry and visual art. Alongside FKA twigs and Eno, the Vatican named Jim Jarmusch, Meredith Monk, Suzanne Ciani, Devonté Hynes, Otobong Nkanga, Precious Okoyomon and Moor Mother. (theartnewspaper.com) (vaticannews.va) The Castello site adds objects and texts to the audio program. Vatican News said it will include the final work by German filmmaker Alexander Kluge, who died in 2026, plus a multilingual library of Hildegard texts, artist books by Ilda David’ and a new cloister project by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio. (vaticannews.va) The Holy See has become a regular Biennale participant, but this year’s pavilion is staking its case through headphones, field recordings and commissioned compositions. In Venice in May, the Vatican will ask visitors to listen first. (theartnewspaper.com) (labiennale.org)