The Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014 will engage connoisseurs and students from across the globe. The founder of the show, Bose Krishnamachari, talks to Karan Bhardwaj about the need for exhibiting art outside galleries
If you visit Fort Kochi now, you might get treated to more than ancient history. The major part of the monument is now taken over by artists, from India and abroad, who are busy contemplating and sculpting their thoughts and ideas using different media. The entire gamut will be on display as a part of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014. Over 90 artists from 30 countries are taking part in the show. One of the most striking purposes of the biennale is to get art out of galleries and make it available to public. “The artists and sculptors have transformed the venues literally as per their art forms. There are hundreds of people working round the clock. It’s one of the Asia’s largest contemporary show,” says artist Bose Krishnamachari, the founder of the show. “We have incredible programmes other than the main curated section. This platform fosters a huge camaraderie between artists, collectors, critics, gallerists and experts from different parts of the world. We have got tremendous support from the fraternity as it is an artist-driven space. It’s not just about art but also architects who are trying to associate with the event,” he adds.
Sahej Rahal, a 26-year-old artist from Mumbai, is working on clay figures that will represent the “absent port city” of Muziris, which was supposedly destroyed in a tsunami in 1341. Though Kochi is not one of the prominent cities when it comes to art, the organisers say the exhibition is transforming the city into one major art hub. “As a site Kochi’s rich history offers a unique orientation and a glossary of signs to address the present. Unlike so many other places, a lot of local audience are citizens engaged in cultural, social and political processes which more than compensates for their lack of exposure to contemporary art. At one level I’d say that the lack of familiarity with contemporary art could help draw a differently rich experience of art as one’s view is free of preconceptions,” says curator Jitish Kallat.
It is perhaps the large participation and success of the first edition of this show that the event has caught the fancy of international stake holders. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale has become a subject for this year’s Chevening Clore leadership Programme for senior professionals in global cultural management. Meena Vari, an Indian arts teacher selected for the British cultural leadership programme, has chosen the contemporary art event the topic of her study. Students from the prominent art school Central St Martins, london and the Bangalore-based Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology will conduct the online study, conceived by Vari under a project called ‘Global Art Spaces’.
Whorled Explorations, the central exhibition, will be accompanied by History Now, a series of talks and seminars running through the 108 days of the biennale. In addition, there will be the Student’s Biennale, a pilot programme opening on December 13, engaging students from government-run art colleges across India, led by young curators selected from across the country. The programmes also include performances, collateral events, interactive projects for children, as well as the Artist’s Cinema project.
“The student’s show is one of the most interesting parallel projects. When we were studying art, there were not many platforms to discuss ideas. I studied art with a group of over 30 students but most of them ended up taking different jobs. We want to understand why most art institutions are failing in nurturing artists in the right direction. There’s a survey by 15 young curators, selected from 75 applications from different parts of India. These curators will get an exposure to work with art schools during the event. Each curator will take a survey of three government-run institutions and will also pick up three students from each institute to showcase their works,” informs Krishnamachari. About 70 per cent of the artworks are new. Most of them are being produced on site while others are being shipped.