KOCHI: THE anticipation among the people is rising as the December 12 opening of the Kochi Muziris Biennale draws near. Even the city police are getting ready. At a gathering of the stakeholders of the festival, Mattancherry Assistant Police Commissioner S Vijayan said: “There will be a picket near Aspinwall House (the main venue at Fort Kochi).
This apart, there will be 10 bike patrols round the clock. We are also setting up a special control room. In a couple of days, we will be holding classes to sensitise bus and autorickshaw drivers, homestay owners and employees on how to interact properly with the guests.”
Earlier, Riyas Komu, the secretary of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, said there would be 97 participating artistes, including 36 from India, who will be taking part. The Kerala artistes include Anand, Bara Bhaskaran, C Bhagyanath, K P Sunil, P K Sadanandan, T V Santhosh and Tony Joseph.
“This Biennale is a diverse one. There are craftspeople, performers, writers, filmmakers, theatre people, muralists, painters and sculptors. And to ensure that the public will enjoy the event, more than 100 ‘Interpretation Guides’ have been receiving training for the past two months,” Komu said.
According to curator Sudarshan Shetty, the theme is titled ‘Forming in the pupil of an eye’. “When a sage looks at the world, he draws in all the multiplicities through that one moment of vision,” says Sudarshan. “This is a Biennale of multiplicity,” he added. K V Thomas MP spoke about the initial resistance by local artistes about the setting up of the Biennale. “It was the media in Kochi which cleared the way. Now, this Biennale has become very big and is known all over the world. It also has made a huge economic impact,” he said.
The others who spoke included Hibi Eden MLA, writer Sethu, artist K Reghunadhan and Cochin Corporation stalwart K J Soman. Unlike many other biennales, the Kochi Biennale is involved in multiple programmes: a Students’ Biennale, a History Now Project, a film festival, a video lab, Art by Children, Arts and Medicine and a ‘Let’s Talk’ programme. “We are the only Biennale which is involved in so many projects,” said Komu.