Art & Exhibitions
The Vatican’s Latest Salvo Against A.I.? An Art Triennial
The event by the Catholic Universities aims to champion human creativity amid the rise of artificial intelligence.
In May, Pope Leo XIV set out the Catholic Church’s position on A.I., warning in his first encyclical that the technology threatens to undermine the essence of humanity if allowed to develop without moral oversight. The Vatican has now followed up with a global art triennial aimed at elevating human creativity and generating debate over the hot button issues of the modern world.
The Catholic Universities Art Triennial makes this purpose abundantly clear through its title “Exercises in Empathy,” a follow-on from Pope Leo’s declaration that artificial intelligences “lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow.” The Triennial will be staged at seven Catholic universities across four continents throughout the remainder of the year, before concluding in Venice in 2027, where the Vatican staged a widely acclaimed soundscape pavilion at this year’s Biennale.
Organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, the event positions Catholic universities, many of which ground students in courses of philosophy and theology, as natural sites to gather and reflect on the state of the world through art. The Triennale’s chief curator, Nuno Crespo, called the venture a “School of Empathy” where moral experiments will take place.
“[The Triennial unites] artists who speak different languages, possess different poetics, and have very distinct artistic, cultural, social, and political practices,” Crespo, who heads the School of Arts at the Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon, said in a curatorial statement. “Each work, each exhibition, and each artist leads us towards collective practices of empathy.”
Staged at catholic universities in Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Boston, Lisbon, Luanda, Milan, and Santiago, the Triennial includes some impressive names in its list of more than 100 participating artists.
The series will kick off at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in late August, staging work by the pioneer of Brazilian conceptual art Ana Maria Maiolino and Arthur Jafa, a chronicler of Black life in America. In Chile, there are promised showings from Thai multimedia artist Korakrit Arunanondchai and Rivane Neuenschwander, the Brazilian artist known for installations of everyday materials.
In Bogotá, a cohort of 13 artists will include work from the Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Fittingly, Boston College will stage work from Corita Kent, the one-time nun whose text-heavy work wove social justice into Pop art. The Catholic University of Angola is showing work by more than 20 artists, including by Sammy Baloji and Kiluanji Kia Henda, both known for exploring African postcolonial identities through photography. The largest exhibition will take place in Lisbon with a roster of more than 30 artists including the likes of Martha Rosler and William Eggleston.
“At a time when many processes are being delegated to algorithms, reaffirming the centrality of human empathy becomes an act of cultural awareness,” José Tolentino de Mendonça, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, said in a statement. “May the Triennial strengthen the international role of Catholic Universities as cultural workshops capable of contributing to the task of humanization.”
Facts Only
* The Vatican initiated a global art triennial regarding AI following Pope Leo XIV's warning in an encyclical.
* The event is titled “Exercises in Empathy.”
* The Triennial will be staged at seven Catholic universities across four continents, concluding in Venice in 2027.
* The Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See organized the event.
* The initiative aims to elevate human creativity and generate debate concerning modern issues related to AI.
* Nuno Crespo called the venture a “School of Empathy.”
* Participating artists are from various backgrounds, including Brazilian conceptual art pioneers and African postcolonial identity explorers.
* Exhibitions will occur in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Boston, Lisbon, Luanda, Milan, and Santiago.
* Featured artists include Ana Maria Maiolino, Arthur Jafa, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Corita Kent, Martha Rosler, and William Eggleston.
Executive Summary
The Catholic Universities Art Triennial is an event organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See to champion human creativity amidst the rise of artificial intelligence. The initiative stems from Pope Leo XIV's prior warning that unchecked AI development threatens human essence, which prompted the Vatican to organize the triennial to generate debate. The event is titled "Exercises in Empathy," drawing from Pope Leo’s observation that artificial intelligences lack the relational and spiritual perspective necessary for human growth.
The Triennial will take place at seven Catholic universities across four continents over the remainder of the year, concluding in Venice in 2027, where a soundscape pavilion was featured at the Biennale. The event positions Catholic universities, with their grounding in philosophy and theology, as venues for reflecting on global issues through art. The chief curator, Nuno Crespo, described the event as a "School of Empathy" where moral experiments occur, uniting artists from diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds.
The exhibition involves over 100 participating artists across locations including Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Boston, Lisbon, Luanda, Milan, and Santiago. Featured artists include Ana Maria Maiolino and Arthur Jafa, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Corita Kent, Sammy Baloji, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Martha Rosler, and William Eggleston. The event aims to reaffirm human empathy as a necessary cultural response to the delegation of processes to algorithms.
Full Take
The structure of this event demonstrates an attempt to channel a high-level philosophical concern—the ontological threat posed by unchecked AI—into a tangible, multi-continental artistic practice focused on human relationality. The framework intentionally leverages the specific institutional context of Catholic universities, which are traditionally centers for philosophy and theology, to frame art not merely as aesthetic expression but as an ethical and empathetic training ground. This positions empathy as a necessary counterbalance to algorithmic delegation, suggesting that cultural reflection is a form of resistance against purely technical systems.
The selection and juxtaposition of artists—spanning multimedia, conceptual art, and social justice movements across continents—reveals an embedded pattern of seeking universal human experience despite profound cultural specificity. The success hinges on whether the process of artistic collaboration truly fosters the "empathy" mentioned, or if it risks becoming another layer of intellectual performance. The ultimate implication is a call to reassert human agency within technological shifts; the risk lies in framing this as an external moral mandate rather than an internal capacity for connection and ethical judgment that must be cultivated through engagement, rather than simply mandated.
Bridge Questions: How does the institutional backing of Catholic universities influence the reception and scope of these "moral experiments" when engaging with diverse global artistic practices? What metrics can be established to assess whether this focus on empathy translates into actionable, systemic critiques against AI development, or remains primarily an internal cultural exercise? If empathy is the key response, what are the structural barriers preventing the integration of such empathetic practice into broader public discourse outside academic and ecclesiastical spheres?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like well-researched reporting on an institutional event, effectively bridging high-level ethical concerns about AI with concrete artistic and geographical manifestations.