"Exercises in Empathy. Accompaniment" at Boston College, ArtCut'26 - Catholic Universities Art Triennale
Credits: Caitlin Cunningham. Courtesy: Boston College
The Sidival Fila Philanthropic Foundation is pleased to present Sidival Fila's participation in Exercises in Empathy. Accompaniment , a group exhibition hosted by the Burns Library at Boston College from September 23 to November 15, 2026.
The exhibition brings together works by Manthia Diawara, Lisa Elmaleh, Sidival Fila, Jeremy Frey, Sónia Gomes, Sr. Corita Kent, Lucky Pierre, Deb Todd Wheeler and Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca , connecting different artistic practices around the theme of accompaniment, understood as a concrete form of proximity, presence and relationship.
For this occasion, Sidival Fila presents a selection of sculptures and painting that reflect on the possibility of building a relationship through material and gesture. The works thus become spaces where different traces can coexist and find new form.
Within the exhibition, Sidival's practice enters into dialogue with that of other artists, starting from a shared question: what does it mean to accompany another? Accompanying is not simply understood as being present alongside someone, but as a practice of attention and care capable of creating a space for encounter. From this perspective, art can become an exercise in empathy: not a definitive answer, but a way to approach the other's experience, pause in the relationship, and recognize what unites us.
The exhibition is the Boston chapter of the first Catholic Universities Art Triennial (ArtCut'26), an international project commissioned by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See and curated by Nuno Crespo. The Triennial involves seven Catholic universities on four continents and brings together over one hundred artists and fifteen curators through exhibitions, commissions, publications, and public programs. The project will unfold over the course of 2026 and 2027 through seven chapters, each conceived as a different “Exercise in Empathy.”
Boston College is the Triennial's only North American venue and one of seven universities participating in the project. Exercises in Empathy. Accompaniment is curated by Nuno Crespo and Sheila Gallagher, Associate Professor of Studio Art at Boston College, and is a collaboration between the university and the ArtCut'26 project.
The exhibition invites us to consider empathy not as an abstract concept, but as a practice to be exercised through encounters. The works thus become relational devices: ways to observe, listen, and experience the presence of others.
ArtCut'26: Exercises in Empathy. Accompaniment
Burns Library, Boston College
September 23 – November 15, 2026
Edited by Nuno Crespo with Sheila Gallagher
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