The Dicastery for Culture and Education presents the Holy See Pavilion, The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul, at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The Pavilion is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective.

Inspired by the life and legacy of Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), the Pavilion takes the form of a sonic prayer and responds to curator Koyo Kouoh’s invitation to slow down and attune ourselves to quieter registers, reaffirming the contemplative act of listening.

The Pavilion unfolds across two venues in Venice: the Mystic Garden of the Discalced Carmelites, a monastic garden tended by the Carmelite community since the seventeenth century, where listening becomes the primary act; and the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex, where the project expands into a contemporary scriptorium and living archive—a space for study and reflection, including Alexander Kluge’s The 12 Stations of Hildegard of Bingen.