Sensory Opening with Patti Smith at the Venice Biennale

With Patti Smith and Soundwalk Collective, a performance inspired by Hildegard von Bingen took place at the opening of the Vatican Holy See Pavilion within the Venice Biennale...

Scraper SystemJune 03, 2026, 01:51 PM

At the Church of Santa Maria di Nazareth, Patti Smith and Soundwalk Collective delivered a performance reminiscent of a ritual at the official opening of the Vatican Holy See Pavilion within the Venice Biennale. The approximately half-hour performance, realized in collaboration with Onassis Culture, consisted of three works specially created for this event. The texts and hymns performed by Patti Smith belonged to Hildegard von Bingen, a Benedictine nun, poet, composer, and healer who lived in the 12th century. Her monastery in Germany is still active today. About 30 nuns follow her teachings, sing her hymns, and tend the monastery gardens. Hildegard von Bingen's works have inspired composers, musicians, and vocalists for centuries. Considered one of the most important composers of the religious monophonic music tradition, Hildegard is also regarded as one of the most recorded historical figures in the modern era. The event was organized within the exhibition titled "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul" at the Vatican Holy See Pavilion. The conceptual framework of the exhibition aligns with the curatorial approach proposed by Koyo Kouoh for this year's Biennale, aiming to slow down rhythm, create space for tranquility, and attune to a calmer frequency. Accordingly, the pavilion transforms into an auditory place of prayer, inviting visitors to an experience of listening and contemplation inspired by the life and legacy of Hildegard von Bingen. The Vatican Pavilion's exhibition was curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective. The exhibition spans two venues in Venice: the Barefoot Carmelites' Secret Garden in Cannaregio and the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice complex in Castello. The selection consists of new works commissioned from 24 artists, bringing together different disciplines. Participants include names such as Jim Jarmusch, Brian Eno, FKA twigs, Kali Malone, and Meredith Monk. Twenty-one of the works in the Vatican Pavilion are auditory. Visitors to the Secret Garden are invited to a deep listening and introspective experience. Wearing headphones, they listen to new works by Soundwalk Collective, unified into a single sound entity, while wandering in this wonderful garden. Immediately after the music event with Patti Smith, Stephan Crasneanscki, the spirit of Soundwalk Collective, spoke to Euronews: "We wanted to create an auditory prayer as a tribute to the opening of the Vatican Pavilion and to Hildegard von Bingen. Here, we designed a sound exhibition as if you were wandering inside a monastery in a park. Hildegard's medicines and plants are still here. Therefore, we wanted to pay our respects to Hildegard in the monastery chapel and open the Vatican Pavilion. Within the context of the pavilion and the Venice Biennale, we offer visitors the opportunity to contemplate." "I come from the world of sound; I have been involved with it for about 30 years. So there is incredible excitement around this pavilion. And that's wonderful because sound has always been overshadowed. It was always in the service of the image or kept behind something else. Sound art and sound have not received the value they deserve. Yet here, in this garden, suddenly, there is nothing else, only sound. And sound gives you an experience you have never tasted before. You don't see any artwork, painting, or anything else, only nature, so sound truly stands out. It is there with all its potential and is a real tribute to sound itself." "At the core of Hildegard von Bingen's focus are music, song, and nature. For this, she used the word ‘Viriditas.’ This relates to green power, vitality, and the idea of being fully present in the now so that the world can unfold before our eyes. She used song, gardening, and nature to ground us and bring us to the mother." "In this auditory prayer we created with Patti Smith, we wanted to expand this state of contemplation and allow the heart to open." "Soundwalk Collective is an international experimental sound art collective founded in 2001 by Stephan Crasneanscki, joined by Simone Merli in 2008. The group is based in Berlin and New York. They have collaborated many times with Patti Smith:" "We have a long-standing partnership with Patti Smith that spans almost 15 years. We met by chance on a plane and believed it was a fateful meeting. Since that day, we have worked together many times. When I had the opportunity to work for the Vatican, I immediately called Patti and invited her to do this work and be part of the group of artists participating in this project." "Then, when we came to this garden and I saw the small chapel dedicated to Santa Maria at the end of the garden, I called Patti and said, ‘This is your chapel. We should record your voice here and create your work here.’ We made the recording in New York and produced a work dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Here, Patti transforms into the Virgin Mary. She embodies Mary as a woman and a mother in her body." "The spirit of Hildegard remains with the visitor touring the pavilion. This is our idea, and the entire design of the walk in the Secret Garden is based on this. It is as if you enter time and space, sound and music. Yet sound has no time. Sound is always here. The sound of the sea was here long before us and will be here long after us. Sound does not operate with our time. We are the ones who invented time; sound does not recognize time." On October 26, there will also be an opportunity to listen to them in Athens. Together with Jim Jarmusch, they are signing a special project prepared by Onassis Stegi.

Sensory Opening with Patti Smith at the Venice Biennale

With Patti Smith and Soundwalk Collective, a performance inspired by Hildegard von Bingen took place at the opening of the Vatican Holy See Pavilion within the Venice Biennale...