Vatican’s sound pavilion
The Holy See’s pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will be sound‑led and immersive, with artists including Patti Smith and Brian Eno commissioned to create new sonic works and installations (wallpaper.com) (hubemag.com). Organizers describe the project as a meditative listening experience that surveys nearly a millennium of sonic possibilities through newly commissioned compositions and cross‑disciplinary pieces (wallpaper.com) (hubemag.com).
The Vatican’s pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will be built around listening, with new sound works by Patti Smith, Brian Eno and FKA twigs. (wallpaper.com) The Holy See announced 24 participants for the project, titled *The Ear is the Eye of the Soul*, on April 15, 2026. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça appointed Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers to curate it. (wallpaper.com) The pavilion will run during the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, which opens May 9 and closes November 22, 2026, with previews on May 6, 7 and 8. The main exhibition is carrying forward Koyo Kouoh’s project, *In Minor Keys*, with the support of her family after her death. (labiennale.org) The Vatican’s show will unfold in 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 pieces on headphones while walking through 17th-century plots and arbours. (wallpaper.com) The project is anchored in the life of Saint Hildegard of Bingen, the German Benedictine abbess who lived from 1098 to 1179. Organizers said the exhibition treats listening as a contemplative act and frames the pavilion as a “sonic prayer.” (theartnewspaper.com) That focus marks a shift from the image-heavy format many visitors expect at Venice. The Vatican is using musicians, poets, filmmakers, architects and sound artists in one pavilion instead of centering painting or sculpture alone. (theartnewspaper.com) (wallpaper.com) The roster reaches beyond pop musicians. The announced participants also include Dev Hynes, Jim Jarmusch, Precious Okoyomon, Otobong Nkanga and organist Kali Malone. (theartnewspaper.com) Soundwalk Collective, the sound art platform founded in 2001, is collaborating on the project and building a site-specific instrument that will “listen” to the garden in real time. A project statement said 20 artists are contributing new commissions for that headphone-based section. (theartnewspaper.com) The Holy See is still a relatively new national participant at Venice. La Biennale’s architecture arm said the Vatican made its first appearance there in 2018 with “Vatican Chapels,” a group of 10 temporary chapels on San Giorgio Maggiore. (labiennale.org) This time, instead of building chapels, the Vatican is building a route through voices, instruments and ambient sound. When the Biennale opens on May 9, visitors will encounter the Holy See first with their ears. (wallpaper.com)
