Vatican pavilion adds FKA twigs and Eno

The Vatican’s 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion will center sound, with FKA twigs and Brian Eno among 24 invited artists. (theartnewspaper.com) The Holy See said the pavilion, titled *The Ear is the Eye of the Soul*, will open as part of Biennale Arte 2026, which runs from May 9 to November 22 in Venice. The Vatican presentation will unfold across two sites: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelite in Cannaregio and the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice complex in Castello. (labiennale.org; theartnewspaper.com) The project is framed around Hildegard of Bingen, the Benedictine abbess, composer, poet and healer who lived from 1098 to 1179. Vatican News said the exhibition takes the form of a “sound prayer” built around contemplation and listening. (theartnewspaper.com; vaticannews.va) The lineup reaches well beyond the visual-arts circuit. Vatican News listed Patti Smith, Jim Jarmusch, Devonté Hynes, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, Meredith Monk, Suzanne Ciani, Moor Mother and Otobong Nkanga among the participants. (vaticannews.va) Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers are curating the pavilion, and Soundwalk Collective is collaborating on the sound works. In the garden section, 20 artists will present new commissions heard through headphones alongside an instrument that listens to the site in real time. (theartnewspaper.com) At the Castello site, the Vatican said visitors will also see the final work by German filmmaker and writer Alexander Kluge, who died in 2026, spread across 12 stations and three rooms. The complex will include a multilingual Hildegard library, artist books by Ilda David’ and a cloister project by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio. (vaticannews.va) The pavilion lands inside a Biennale shaped by Koyo Kouoh’s theme, *In Minor Keys*. La Biennale says the 61st edition will run on Kouoh’s curatorial plan, with previews on May 6, 7 and 8 before the public opening on May 9. (labiennale.org) The Holy See has recently used the Biennale for projects tied to place and social questions rather than a conventional white-cube national show. In 2024, its pavilion was staged inside Venice’s women’s prison on Giudecca and remained active there through November with workshops and public visits. (vaticannews.va) This year’s version shifts that approach toward music, voice and devotional listening, while keeping the Vatican inside one of contemporary art’s biggest international stages. By May, visitors in Venice will be able to hear how a national pavilion built around Hildegard, headphones and live sound sits alongside the Biennale’s broader mood of quieter, slower attention. (theartnewspaper.com; labiennale.org; vaticannews.va)