4th edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale to open on Dec 12

The fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) featuring a dynamic range of multi-media artworks, along with curated programming in the fields of cinema, performance, as well as seminars and workshops, kick-starts at 10 different venues across the city on Wednesday (Dec 12).

This edition involves over 100 artists combined with unique ideas, aiming to showcase a transformative chapter in the history of global contemporary art.

Curated by eminent artist Anita Dube around the theme of ‘Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life’, the 108-day Biennale will feature a total of 94 artist projects. Slated to conclude on March 29 next year, the Biennale will be held across heritage venues in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, as well as the Durbar Hall in downtown Ernakulam.

The Biennale will include works by well-known artists such as Nilima Sheikh, Anju Dodiya, Guerilla Girls, Shirin Neshat, Martha Rosler, Vanessa Baird, Sue Williamson, Sonia Khurana, Zanele Muholi, Marlene Dumas and Aryakrishnan Ramakrishnan. The event involves a wide range of practitioners, especially from West Asia, South-East Asia, Africa, Latin America and South Asia.

A particularly exciting aspect of the Biennale is the team of 20 dedicated Art Mediators, who would reside in Kochi through the span of the event. Especially trained by the foundation, the mediators would give guided tours of the exhibition at set times everyday free of charge, in both English and Malayalam.

The exhibition will be spread across 10 Biennale venues: Aspinwall House, Durbar Hall, Pepper House, Cabral Yard (Biennale Pavilion), David Hall, Kashi Town House, Uru Art Harbour, Dutch Warehouse, Anand Warehouse and TKM warehouse.

For the first time, the Students’ Biennale, which is a parallel event to the Biennale, would feature more than 200 student-artists belonging to private and public art schools, from India and South Asia. This project also showcases works by students from SAARC countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Expanded Education Programme, a new addition to the Students’ Biennale, will have national and international artist-educators offering a series of curriculum-based interventions through workshops at select art colleges in India.

There will also be a set of ancillary events during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018. These include the Let’s Talk series of presentations and discussions by artists and thinkers, Artists’ Cinema, which presents a curated packages of films, and the Music of Muziris concert series, showcasing a range of traditional and contemporary music acts.