Vatican’s sound‑led pavilion
The Holy See is building a sound‑forward pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale that mixes new music commissions with artworks and installations — and it will include figures like Patti Smith and Brian Eno. (wallpaper.com). The program is billed as exploring nearly a millennium of sonic possibilities through newly commissioned compositions and site-specific pieces. (wallpaper.com).
The Vatican has turned its 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion into a sound project, with new commissions by Patti Smith, Brian Eno, FKA Twigs and 21 other artists. (wallpaper.com) The Holy See said 24 artists will take part in “The Ear is the Eye of the Soul,” a pavilion curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective. The show opens as part of Biennale Arte 2026, which runs from May 9 to November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. (wallpaper.com) (labiennale.org) The project is split across two Venice sites: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites in Cannaregio and the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice complex in Castello. In the garden, visitors will hear commissioned works on headphones, and Soundwalk Collective is also building an instrument that listens to the garden in real time. (theartnewspaper.com) (wallpaper.com) The pavilion is built around Saint Hildegard of Bingen, the Benedictine abbess, poet, healer and composer who lived from 1098 to 1179. The Holy See said the exhibition answers the Biennale’s main title, “In Minor Keys,” with what it called a “sonic prayer.” (theartnewspaper.com) (wallpaper.com) That marks a sharp change in medium for a national pavilion at an exhibition usually led by objects, rooms and images. La Biennale said the 2026 edition will include 100 national participations and 31 collateral events across Venice. (labiennale.org) The Holy See has used the Biennale in recent editions to stage site-specific projects tied to church institutions and social spaces. In 2024, its pavilion “With my eyes” was installed inside the women’s prison on Giudecca and was led by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, who is again commissioner in 2026. (labiennale.org) (wallpaper.com) The 2026 lineup reaches well beyond musicians. The Art Newspaper reported that participants also include filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, artist-poet Precious Okoyomon, artist Otobong Nkanga and organist Kali Malone. (theartnewspaper.com) Biennale Arte 2026 is proceeding with the exhibition plan conceived by Koyo Kouoh, and the Holy See’s pavilion is positioning itself inside that framework with listening rather than spectacle. By May, visitors will be walking into a Vatican show that asks them to put on headphones before they look around. (labiennale.org) (wallpaper.com)
