As the Kochi-Muziris Biennale completed two months of festivity, the organisers are aiming for a grand final lap by strengthening visitors’ attendance, crowd funding and participation of cultural icons.

The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), which is organising the three-month extravaganza that began on 12/12/2012, said the total number of visitors at the 14-venue festival stood approximately at 2.5 lakh till date.

After the first week of January, the average crowd has been 1,000 a day. It goes between 2,000 and 2,500 on Saturdays and Sundays,” according to a KBF spokesperson. “Right from the start, we have been getting at least 500 foreign visitors a day.”

KBF president Bose Krishnamachari, a co-curator of the pioneering event, noted that word of mouth continues to be an effective tool in spreading awareness about the biennale. “We are keen on extracting maximum feedback for the event,” he said.

He also pointed out that the biennale has already been of benefit to the city economy, having boosted revenue from tourists this season since December.

In a bid to promote crowd funding, the KBF has floated a project where donations would come with certain privileges.

Under this have come categories such as ‘Friend of the Biennale (Rs 2,500), Founding Donor Membership (Rs 25,000) and ‘Sponsor A Day (Rs 1.5 lakh).

KBF secretary Riyas Komu, another co-curator, said the final month of the biennale ending on March 13 would witness increased participation of frontline figures across the realm of culture.

“We are planning to hold events such as art discourses, particularly as a culture audit of the biennale. There are also moves to hold media workshops – and separately for the visual stream,” he said.

Effort is on to rope in more personalities from the fields of literature, social activism and ethnic arts — both practitioners and scholars, Komu added.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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