For Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education who is overseeing the pavilion, the idea to host an art exhibition at a prison was in part inspired by the many Catholic volunteers who are already serving in prison ministry.
It was also inspired by Pope Francis’ message to artists last year, which encouraged artists to take up themes such as “the defense of human life, social justice, [and] concern for the poor” as they consider the social responsibility of art.
“It is no coincidence that the title of the pavilion, ‘With My Eyes,’ wants to focus our attention on the importance of how we responsibly conceive, express, and build our social, cultural, and spiritual coexistence,” the cardinal said at a Vatican press conference on March 11.
“We live in an era marked by the predominance of digital and the triumph of remote communication technologies, which propose an increasingly deferred and indirect human gaze, running the risk of it remaining detached from reality itself,” he said.
Pope Francis will make history in April when he becomes the first pope to visit the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition on Sunday, April 28.
The cardinal recalled how when he first invited Pope Francis to visit the Vatican’s pavilion at the women’s prison, the pope replied with his usual sense of humor that this was something that he needed to go see “with my eyes,” making a joke about the title of the pavilion.