The Holy See will have its own stand at the 55th Venice Biennale which will be taking place from June to November 2013. It will host artists from around the world, whose work deals with subjects from the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis.
The decision will be officially announced in June by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
But for the moment, the artists have not yet been selected, and the amount of the space the Vatican will use is still being discussed.
The idea of the Vatican’s participation at the Biennale has been discussed for some time now.
Three years ago, Ravasi himself suggested that the Holy See had planned to be present at the 2011 event.
The reason this did not materialise, the cardinal explained, was because “we were not really able to ensure a meaningful representation of artists.”
But now everything seems to have finally fallen into place.
For several months a scientific committee has been at work, composed of Sandro Barbagallo, art critic of the Vatican daily broadsheet L’Osservatore Romano, Michal Strong, director of the contemporary art collection of the Vatican Museums, Francesco Buranelli, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Cultural Heritage of Church, and Fr. Andrew Dall’Asta, Director of Collection Lercaro of Bologna and the Galleria San Fedele in Milan.
Also participating, are people working on logistics and assisting Cardinal Ravasi in his search for sponsors - not an easy task in a time of crisis.
“The artists,” authoritative Vatican sources have explained to Italian newspaper La Stampa, “will include fewer than ten men and women from various countries around the world, some of whom are established artists and others who are just emerging. Their subject matter will be the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis, so topics will include the creation, the first couple, love, protecting God’s creation (a theme very dear to Benedict XVI ), but also the fall through original sin and therefore evil, violence, oppression of peoples, and the Flood; and finally, the pilgrimage toward the faith of Abraham.”
These are the same themes that inspired Michelangelo in his Sistine Chapel frescoes.
The committee has been engaged in detailed discussions as to which direction to take: the stand is not actually comparable to those of other national States promoting their own artists. Indeed, in this case it is not the tiny Vatican City State that will be participating, but the Holy See - a reality with its own specific identity.
The President of the Venice Biennale, Paolo Baratta, has made a space available at the Venice Arsenal, consisting of two 500 square meter floors, which are separate from the other stands.
If the Holy See decides to occupy both floors, it will have to shell out two million Euro.
But it seems more likely that it will choose to take up just one floor, paying only one million, even though it would mean appearing and sharing space with another State.
Proceeds will go toward the restoration and rehabilitation of the currently dilapidated pavilion.
The fee will also grant the Vatican the right to use that space for the next 26 years, meaning that in the future, it will only have to pay for the cost of constructing its exhibits.
Cardinal Ravasi has decided to avoid impacting the Vatican’s finances in any way, seeking out a major sponsor instead and then attracting smaller sponsors, perhaps those related to individual artists.
The presence of the Holy See at the Biennale is a step along the path of dialogue between the Church and the art world, which, in addition to the meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and artists in 2009, also included an exhibition in honour of the Pope’s sixty years of priesthood, held last year in the Vatican.
The Holy See's stand in Venice will of course arouse debate, and even some controversy, both inside and outside the Church.
Ravasi himself expects this – as he said two years ago: “I know we will upset people on all sides of the issue – some will accuse us of giving credit to “degenerate” art, and others will reproach us for an overly “religious” selection.”