CM Pinarayi Vijayan to Inaugurate 6th Edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale on Dec 12

Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) on Friday evening at Parade Ground, Fort Kochi, the organisers confirmed. The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) announced that this edition will feature 22 venues, alongside seven collateral events, significantly expanding the socio-historical and political scope of India's largest contemporary art festival. The festival will run until March 31, 2026.

This year’s biennale will showcase works by 66 artists and collectives from 25 countries, with parallel events to further enrich the experience. Curated by Nikhil Chopra, the theme for KMB-6 is titled "for the time being." Following the inauguration, the opening ceremony will be followed by a public concert featuring Shanka Tribe, with performances by Neha Nair, Resmi Satheesh, and Shahabaz Aman.

The Biennale flag will be hoisted at the Aspinwall House venue at noon on Friday, immediately after a Thayambaka recital by renowned chenda percussionist Margi Rahitha Krishnadas and her team. The opening day will also feature performances by KMB participating artists Monica de Miranda, Zarina Muhammad, and Mandeep Raikhy, among others.

While the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has traditionally been held every two years since its inception in 2012, this year marks a departure from the central venue concept. For the first time, most of the exhibits will be located outside the iconic Aspinwall House in Fort Kochi, with additional venues in the adjacent Mattancherry. A new location this year is the Island Warehouse in Willingdon Island, which can be accessed via Water Metro, ferry, or road. The Durbar Hall Gallery in Ernakulam, another established venue, will also host several exhibitions.

Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) chairperson Venu V highlighted that the increased number of venues will allow visitors to engage more deeply with the artworks. He mentioned that KBF was able to scale up the show this year due to improved financial management and recruitment of experienced professionals. KBF president Bose Krishnamachari emphasized that the biennale has always been a participatory event rooted in the community, involving collaboration between artists, curators, volunteers, and the people of Kochi. He added that the expansion of venues, new formats, and partnerships reflects the organisers' commitment to expanding cultural access and fostering public engagement with contemporary art.

Curator Nikhil Chopra explained that this edition of the biennale is focused on the body as a bearer of memory and materiality. According to Chopra, the “body” extends metaphorically into Kochi's landscape, with its rivers, canals, backwaters, and the effects of colonialism, maritime trade, migrations, socio-political changes, and communal life all shaping the city’s identity.

Alongside the main exhibition, KMB-6 will feature special verticals such as the Students' Biennale, Art by Children, and Edam, which will run from December 13 until the end of the biennale. The Students' Biennale, showcasing works from student artists across over 175 art institutions in India, will be held at the VKL Warehouse in Mattancherry.

Durbar Hall will host Of Worlds, Within Worlds, a solo show by Gulammohammed Sheikh, curated by Rubina Karode and presented by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Another major exhibition, Edam, curated by Aishwarya Suresh and KM Madhusudhanan, will be spread across three venues on Bazaar Road at Mattancherry. A special installation, Six Stations of a Life Pursued (2022), by the late Vivan Sundaram, will be showcased at Cube Art Space in Mattancherry.

Additionally, KBF is organizing an Island Mural Project, aimed at bringing art into public spaces and sparking dialogue with communities and regional histories. During the opening week, various performances, lectures, conversations, and concerts will be held across the biennale and partner venues.