The Indian city of Kochi, Kerala, will soon be inaugurating a new biennial art festival, it was announced to the international press Feb 16 in advance of an official launch declaration in Kochi Feb 17. Spearheaded by contemporary artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is targeted to launch in 2012 and is billed as India’s first international contemporary arts biennale. According to the organizers, it will be the “largest contemporary public art event in the country,” and showcase local and international artists. It will be run by the Kochi Biennale Foundation in partnership with the Muziris Heritage Foundation, with support from the tourism department of Kerala.
Kochi Biennale Foundation founders Krishnamachari and Komu are both Kerala natives, and considered among India’s most dynamic contemporary artists. Now based in Mumbai, the multimedia artist Krishnamachari is also a respected curator who has collaborated on international exhibitions such as the survey “Indian Highway,” which began its multi-country tour at London’s Serpentine Gallery in 2008, and is also behind the concept-driven Mumbai art space Gallery BMB, established in 2009. Komu, who makes sculptures and installations, was included in the centerpiece exhibition of the 2007 Venice Biennale, curated by Robert Storr. The Biennale’s stated aims include developing visual arts practices and theory in Kochi and India and becoming a catalyst for regeneration and urban development in addition to attracting cultural tourism. No word on a theme or exhibiting artists has as yet been released, although plans are underway to install works at existing exhibition sites, public spaces, heritage buildings and other non-traditional venues. Previously, the Triennale-India, established in New Delhi 1968 and run by the national Lalit Kala Academy, had been the country’s largest international contemporary art festival, but it was last held in 2005 and seems to have been discontinued.