Catholic Universities Art Triennial 2026

Exercises in Empathy is a project grounded in the conviction that artistic languages are a privileged means of establishing relationships, dialogues and initiatives free from cultural, linguistic or political constraints.

Bringing together artists, curators and academic institutions across different continents, the project proposes art as a vehicle for a global conversation about the world and humankind, our joys and our sorrows. It is also a project about love, friendship and hospitality since, as Hannah Arendt observed, only love can form human communities, because only love shows us the other as the object of our care.

Inspired by His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the Triennial will take place in multiple locations, with a large curatorial team and in dialogue with the hosting institutions. A collective team for a common project where art, education and culture are brought together to show their centrality in the development of intelligent, humane and empathetic societies.

Art makes possible an emotional, rational and collective connection between one another. There can be no art without relationship, without otherness, without one speaking and another listening, one showing and another seeing. There is no art without empathy.

Art is a sentimental experience through which we say things to each other that transcend times, cultures and geographies.

Artworks become devices for spiritual exercises: through reflections on art, literature and music, emotions expand the human capacity to feel the other, to leap into the centre of a being and see the world as if we were them, teaching us to think critically.