Vatican:

Pope Francis will pay a visit to Italy’s 2024 Venice Art Biennale on April 28. A joint press release from the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Patriarchate of Venice announced the Pope’s visit on Tuesday. The press release said that the Holy Father would meet the ecclesial community of the Patriarchate of Venice, with a program that would be announced in due course.

During his one-day pastoral visit, the Holy Father will stop by to appreciate the exhibit of the Holy See Pavilion at the Giudecca Women’s Prison. The Pavilion, which is focused on the theme of human rights and tenants of marginalized worlds, intends to promote the building of a culture of encounter, a central pivot of Pope Francis’ Magisterium.

The Dicastery for Culture and Education, the promoting body of the Holy See Pavilion would present the project titled ‘With My Eyes’ in collaboration with the Department of Prison Administration of the Ministry of Justice. The prefect of the Dicastery Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça assigned  Chiara Parisi and Bruno Racine as curators of the Holy See Pavilion.

According to the press release, the Pavilion will see the participation of internationally renowned artists, including Maurizio Cattelan, Bintou Dembélé, Simone Fattal, Claire Fontaine, Sonia Gomes, Corita Kent, Marco Perego & Zoe Saldana, Claire Tabouret. It would also see the special participation of the Swiss art curator Hans Ulrich Obrist.

The Venice art exhibition, which has been held biennially since 1895 will be marking its 60th anniversary this year. The exhibition, organized by La Biennale di Venezia, is renowned for showcasing contemporary artworks from artists around the world. The event titled ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ will be open to the public from April 20 until November 24, at the Giardini and the Arsenale. The artistic director of Brazil’s São Paulo Museum of Art Adriano Pedrosa will be the curator for the 2024 Venice Biennale.