KOCHI: A day ahead of the closing of the 108-day Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), a ceremony will be held on Saturday.
Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam will deliver a special address at Durbar Hall at a function scheduled to begin at 5.30 pm. On the occasion, Rural Development, Planning and Culture Minister K C Joseph will deliver the presidential address. Minister for Panchayats and Social Welfare Dr M K Muneer, Thomas Isaac MLA, K V Thomas MP, Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany and GCDA Chairman N Venugopal will speak.
At the ceremony, artistic director Jitish Kallat will speak, Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) secretary Riyas Komu will deliver the welcome address and KBF president Bose Krishnamachari will propose the vote of thanks.Another highlight of the ceremony will be a concert by Delhi-based Ska Vengers band. The two-hour concert by the band’s young artists Samara Chopra and Delhi Sultanate (vocal); Stefan ‘Flexi’ Kaye (organ/percussion); Raghav ‘Diggy’ Dang (guitar); Tony Guinard (bass), Rie Ona (alto saxophone) and Shirish Malhotra (tenor saxophone) typically blends Ska rhythms with elements of dub, punk, jazz and rap.On Saturday, the Fort Kochi venues of the Biennale will open at 9 am and close at 4 pm, while the Durbar Hall venue will keep regular timings, from 10 am to 6:30 pm.
The KBF, which features 100 artworks by 94 artists from 30 countries at eight venues, estimates attendance of nearly 5 lakh visitors in the second edition of the Biennale, marking an increment from the previous edition’s turnout of close to 4,00,000.Parallel to its main exhibition, KMB-14 has been hosting a string of programmes, including a 100-day film festival titled Artists’ Cinema; Students’ Biennale; Children’s Biennale; lectures (under the ‘History Now’ and ‘Let’s Talk’ series) and a residency exhibition. There was also a a performing arts segment, which concluded last evening with a theatre festival, a day after a unique literary meet that traced the language histories and contemporaneity of the region.