Kochi-Muziris Biennale from the year of its inception in 2012 has been a platform for 400 works by over 350 artists from across the world. It has hosted two million visitors in its four preceding editions so far. This year, in December 2022, the Biennale is gearing up for its fifth edition with a mission to “introduce contemporary international visual art theory and practice to India” and “enable a dialogue among artists, curators and the public”. Starting from the 12th of December 2022, the four-month-long biennale will celebrate its closing ceremony on the 10th of April 2023.
Needless to say, there is a long lineup of artists. Anish Kapoor, Anita Dube, Jitish Kallat, and Sudarshan Shetty are among the artists whose works have been a part of the Biennale’s previous editions. To date, more than 60 artists have announced that they are going to be at the 2022 edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The complete list of the artists participating will be declared soon on the official website of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 22-23. The participating artists range from France, Switzerland, Sweden and Jerusalem. Artists from Canada, the UK, Singapore, Pakistan and various other countries are also going to be a part of this Biennale, considered one of South Asia’s largest festivals celebrating contemporary art.
Artists listed in the lineup include Anne Samat from Malaysia, Arpita Singh and Asim Waqif from India, Debbie Ding from Singapore, Jackie Karuli from Kenya, Richard Bell from Australia and many more from around the world. Neerja Kothari a visual artist from India listed in the lineup describes her work as an “investigation of the absurd, in an attempt at trying to quantify an unquantifiable experience”. One more name added to the list is DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency), an architectural studio that is dedicated to architectural experimentations on the reuse and transformation of colonial architecture, settlements, military bases and empty villages.
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Besides the exhibitions, other highlights of the biennale are the talks, seminars, artists’ cinema screenings, workshops, music programs and other educational activities. The Biennale will take place at various locations in and around Fort Kochi, making it a cultural hotspot in the state.
Muziris being an ancient port city has its own significance. Read about this lost port city here.
