Press Release: Dicastery for Culture and Education: Holy See Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition

Workshops and daily guided tours continue at the Holy See Pavilion in the Giudecca women’s prison

On Tuesday 10 September at the Gallerie d’Italia of Intesa Sanpaolo in Milan, the official presentation of the catalogue edited by Marsilio Arte with the artistic direction of Irma Bloom

The project of the Holy See Pavilion at the 60^th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, entitled With my eyes, curated by Chiara Parisi and Bruno Racine, continues its creative journey inside the Giudecca women’s prison. The unique context enables artistic experiences to be interwoven with the daily life of the residents, offering a space for expression and dialogue via internal workshops and guided tours open to the public.

Since the official opening of the Pavilion, the eight artists involved in the project (Maurizio Cattelan, Claire Fontaine, Bintou Dembélé, Simone Fattal, Sonia Gomes, Marco Perego and Zoe Saldana, Claire Tabouret, and with the collaboration of the Corita Art Center) and the guests, supported by the curatorial and production staff, and the educators and agents, have realized a series of workshops that discuss and complete the exhibition open to the public (the free guided tours continue every day, apart from Wednesday, at 10, 11, 15 and 16; it is necessary to book at least 48 hours in advance here).

An integral part of this multifaceted project is also the catalogue, edited by Chiara Parisi and Bruno Racine, and published by Marsilio Arte, which will be officially presented on Tuesday 10 September at the Gallerie d’Italia of Intesa Sanpaolo in Milan, and will be distributed in bookshops and online on the Marsilio Arte website from 6 September, at the price of €35. Realized under the artistic direction of Irma Bloom, the catalogue is at the same time the memory of the project and an exploration of the work carried out by the curators for the Holy See Pavilion, and documents the active dialogue established between the eight artists involved and the residents of the Giudecca women’s prison.

The book opens with a preface by Pope Francis and includes a contribution from Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Holy See Dicastery for Culture and Education and commissioner of the Pavilion, an introduction by Giovanni Bazoli, president emeritus of Intesa Sanpaolo, and continues with a rich curatorial text that closely analyzes the project thanks to testimonies from the artists involved, Olivian Cha and Nellie Scott (Corita Art Center, Los Angeles) the residents of the penitentiary institute, and the staff.

The catalogue is extensively illustrated, with photographs by Marco Cremascoli, showing the projects in the detention centre, and the artist Juergen Teller, which capture Pope Francis’ historic visit to the Pavilion last 28 April, a significant event during which the Pontiff met the residents and the artists.

The detainees then took part – on a voluntary basis – in various workshops, such as that of the Claire Fontaine duo based on the Feldenkrais method to promote self-awareness in relation to the surrounding environment based on movement. The Corita Art Center of Los Angeles instead involved them in a series of sessions for the purpose of creating statements through text and sketches, developed following the pedagogic method involved by Corita Kent.

A special edition of L’Osservatore di Strada, a periodical of the daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, stemmed from a collaboration between Maurizio Cattelan and the residents, in which they created editorial content (the supplement is available online).

On 25 September, the choreographer and dancer Binton Dembélé will stage, behind closed doors, a previously unseen version of Rite de passage – Solo II, created by her and performed by the dancer from “Meech” Onomo.

Finally, on the occasion of the 81^st Venice International Film Festival, held at the Venice Lido, on 5 September 2024, at 11.30 in the “Meeting Spaces”, on the third floor of the Hotel Excelsior, director Marco Perego’s touching short film Dovecote will be presented, featuring the internationally-renowned actress Zoe Saldana, among the works of the Pavilion. Filmed inside the Venice women’s prison with the extraordinary and intense participation of the inmates as actresses, the short film immerses the spectator in an introspective journey, in search of the deepest meaning of freedom.

These workshops and dialogues with the residents follow in the wake of the initial activities, which contributed to animating the Pavilion, such as the workshop with poetry by the inmates which enriched the work of Simone Fattal, or the personal photographs of the residents for the Claire Tabouret workshop, which again can be viewed inside the Pavilion. In addition, there is the formative progress of the residents, who have become guides and narrators of the Pavilion, accompanying the visitors with their unique and personal perspectives.

Colophon

Holy See Pavilion at the 60^th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition

Venice-Giudecca Women’s Prison

Title: With my eyes

Commisioner: His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Holy See Dicastery for Culture and Education

Curators: Chiara Parisi and Bruno Racine

Participants: Maurizio Cattelan, Bintou Dembélé, Simone Fattal, Claire Fontaine, Sonia Gomes, Corita Kent, Marco Perego & Zoe Saldana, Claire Tabouret

Conversations: Hans Ulrich Obrist

Layout project: COR arquitectos and Flavia Chiavaroli

Production: COR arquitectos and Flavia Chiavaroli

Organization: Holy See Dicastery for Culture and Education

Coordination: Cristiano Grisogoni

Main Partner: Intesa Sanpaolo

For the national and international press:

DCE: Cristiano Grisogoni

cristiano.grisogoni@dce.va – eventi@dce.va

+ 39 3381197393

CASADOROFUNGHER Comunicazione

Elena Casadoro Kopp