The State Government is convinced of the need for extending financial support to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, State Culture Minister K.C. Joseph has said.

The next meeting of the State Cabinet will decide on giving grant to the ongoing festival which is the first of its kind in the country, he said after a visit to Aspinwall House, the main venue, at Fort Kochi.

The earlier decision was not to give any further monetary support to the biennale, but the perception is changing given the wide benefits that the three-month-long contemporary art extravaganza has been lending in the fields of culture and economy, the Minister said after a two-hour round of viewing the exhibits at the sea-facing heritage building.

“Let the criticism against the festival continue on the side. That will not influence the government’s decision to extend financial support,” he told reporters.

“The biennale is a big event. It requires far more time to grasp and enjoy it in detail. I could only make a whirlwind round,” he added.

At the galleries, the Minister was accompanied by Dominic Presentation, MLA, Mayor Tony Chammany and Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi Chairman K.A. Francis. Artist Bose Krishnamachari, who is a co-curator of the biennale, explained the exhibits to the Minister.

At a lecture last evening, renowned media person Sashi Kumar said digitisation has been a boon as well as bane for new-age art.

“If you take cyber media, it is more broad than deep. The popular words in the area, such as surfing and scanning, itself are proof enough,” he noted in the talk on ‘Art in the Age of Digital Presentation’.

The effects of digitisation have begun showing their mark on art,” added Sashi Kumar, who currently heads the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai.

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