KOCHI: The country’s only biennale, a spectacular showpiece of Asia’s largest contemporary art event, is poised to enter its sixth edition, promising expansive and immersive art experiences for nearly four months from Friday by turning the Kerala port city into a site for dialogues around emerging global perspectives.
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) will feature 22 venues besides seven collaterals, significantly widening the socio-historical as well as political footprints of India’s new-age art exhibition, which has earned the moniker ‘People’s Biennale’, deeply rooted in the country’s modern identity, diverse culture, and aspirations for an inclusive, democratic society.
To be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on December 12 at 5.30 pm, the KMB-6 will run till March 31, 2026. The 110-day event hosts works by 66 artists/collectives from 25 countries, apart from a range of parallel shows.
KMB-6, curated by Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, Goa, has its curatorial theme titled ‘for the time being’ that embraces ‘process as methodology’. The show envisions a “living ecosystem” where each element “shares space, time and resources” amid constant engagements with each other.
The opening ceremony of KMB-6 will be held at the Parade Ground in Fort Kochi at 6 pm, followed by a public concert by Shanka Tribe featuring Neha Nair, Resmi Satheesh and Shahabaz Aman. The Biennale flag will be hoisted at the nearby Aspinwall House venue at 12 noon after a chenda recital by Margi Rahitha Krishnadas.
Entry fee
Inaugural day: Free
Adults: Rs 200
Students, senior citizens: Rs 100