The Pope Asks You to Write Music

"Der Papst bittet Sie, Musik zu schreiben"

This press roundup covers several art-world stories. Musician FKA Twigs discusses her contribution to the Vatican Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, describing how she was asked by the Pope to write music, blending her club and sacred practices. Artist Trevor Paglen speaks about the 'end of enlightenment' in an interview, arguing that AI-generated images and social media are destroying shared empirical reality. Critic Dean Kissick interviews documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis about the crisis of the self and the exhaustion of contemporary culture. Additionally, a review of the 61st Venice Biennale highlights political tensions, protests, and a carnivalesque trend in the artworks.

Khaled Sabsabi’s Art of Collective Becoming

Lebanese-born, Sydney-based artist Khaled Sabsabi was selected to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale by Creative Australia, but the government intervened within a week, citing a 2007 video containing a blurred image of a former Hezbollah leader as evidence of alleged terrorism support and antisemitism. After Koyo Kouoh, curator of the biennale's main exhibition "In Minor Keys," invited Sabsabi to participate, and following public outcry and an independent review, Sabsabi was reinstated to the Australian pavilion. His two installations—"khalil" at the Arsenale and "conference of one's self" at the Australia pavilion—use painting, sound, and moving image to explore identity and collectivity, drawing on his migration from Lebanon in 1976, his earlier career as hip-hop artist "Peacefender," and Sufi teachings.