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A triennale across seven cities expands on Pope Leo XIV’s message that artificial intelligence models “lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective” necessary to create art.
An exhibition series organized by the Vatican brings together more than 100 artists — including Arthur Jafa, Jeremy Frey, and Mona Hatoum — to celebrate “fundamentally human” creativity in the face of AI’s rapid rise.
Across seven coinciding international exhibitions, the Catholic Universities Art Triennale (ArtCut) centers empathy and self-reflection as the primary drivers of humanity’s progress, rather than technological advancement. ArtCut’s inaugural edition is assembled under the umbrella of Exercises in Empathy, expanding on Pope Leo XIV’s earlier encyclical on safeguarding the human condition from AI’s capacities for manipulation and delusional omnipotence.
Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, commissioned ArtCut’s contemporary art exhibitions at seven Catholic universities across Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Italy, Portugal, Angola, and the United States.
The Triennale responds directly to the Pope’s assertion that AI systems “do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom.” Within this framework, each exhibition focuses on defining facets of humanity, both physical and intellectual.
