A lecture, a dj-set and a Mass for Miltos Manetas’ III Internet Pavilion will be held between 31 August and 1 September at the Palazzo Grassi’ Teatrino and Saint Ludovico’s Oratory, in Venice.

Is there a relationship among internet, art and spirituality? Indeed, this seems to be the question at the centre of the III Internet Pavilion. It is not by chance that, on the occasion of the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale, the exhibition project of artist Miltos Manetas (Athens, 1964) has found its cradle surrounded by the walls of Saint Ludovico’s Oratory, in the Dorsoduro area. Still consecrated – although it has not been used as a place of worship in a long time – the 16th century church was seen to be a contemplative space and therefore revisited, in contrast with the spectacularity of the traditional Venetian kermesse.

Three months after the opening, the time for getting to the point has come. Should we trust the Net’s infinite connections or rather aim for redemption from this rampant technologic dependence? Miltos Manetas and the curatorial duo Francesco Urbano Ragazzi will shine a light on such questionings with the help of artists, critics and theologians who have been invited to host three public appointments: a conference, a DJ-set and a Mass, which will be held between the Oratory of Saint Ludovico and the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi.

On Saturday 31 August at 6 pm, the III Internet Pavilion will be a guest of the international festival Circuito Off, set up in the recently opened Teatrino of the François Pinault Foundation. In between the architectures designed by Tadao Ando, the history of the Pavilion will be recalled, as this year it was paradoxically dedicated to the Unconnected: those people who decided, as contemporary cloistered monks, to live a 100% offline existence.

Again in honor of the Unconnected, a dedicated dj-set will follow, seeing on stage Miltos Manetas and the artist Chiara Fumai performing together for their first time. This latter, recently winner of the Premio Furla, will present herself in the shoes of a DJ for the occasion and will be creating a voiced path inspired to the idea of spam. Following her steps, Manetas will be composing a freestyle with web-raised animations, proposing in a new key of lecture the VJing the Internet‘s experiments initiated in 2000 at the Los Angeles-based ElectronicOrphanage. The audio-video performance will go on later during the night on the dancefloor of the final party of Circuito Off.

On the other hand, on the following day (September 1 at 12 pm), a true religious ritual will be celebrated in the Oratory of Saint Ludovico. There to commend it, there will be Mother Maria Vittoria Longhitano, the first Italian woman to be ordinated presbyter of the Old Catholic Church. The influential words of Madre Longhitano will bring the Oratory back to its original purpose, between Manetas’ canvases and a new VJing session. Moreover, it will be possible to see some precious artistic contributions donated to the Unconnected Church as a sort of ex-voto: the unvoiced voice of Enrico Ghezzi, the websites made by Angelo Plessas and Evan Roth, and many more… Following the end of this Internet Pavilion-dedicated week-end, the Oratory will stay open to visits up to September 15, every day but Monday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Press Release