In conversation with the Biennale Trinity
If you thought art was just something that sits poignantly on a wall, then you’re in for a pleasant surprise. A labyrinth with a myriad of art and installation just waiting to be chanced upon; to be seen and felt and taken in. Here, Art is everywhere. In the water, in the videos playing softly, in a maze of rooms, in wooden benches that reverberate with sound, in writings on the wall the light-bulbs hanging in the halls; in the form of puzzles and photos and even in images of corpses dressed up in designer clothes. Welcome to the third edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale. Six years ago, when it was first conceived by artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, few imagined that it would attain the popularity and reach it has today.
Kochi Muziris Biennale has now come to be known as one of the biggest contemporary art festivals not just in the country, but also in the whole of South East Asia. There’s a huge amount of time, effort and money that goes into making this biannual art extravaganza a reality and bring together 97 artists from 31 countries displaying their artwork. All the more impressive is that most of the artworks are made on-site. The amount of coordination required is massive and the entire project is run by 120 volunteers who are brimming with confidence and passion for the cause they espouse. To see what drives this amazing team, we spoke to the chief organizers Bose Krishnamchari, Riyas Komu and this edition’s curator, Sudarshan Shetty.
What is it you are trying to do differently with this Biennale?
The idea was not to make it different. I took cues from the first edition of the Biennale. There was a kind of openness to it. I was hoping to recreate that setting where people could participate in a more meaningful way. As a curator, I’m supposed to come up with a curatorial statement and everything that follows is derived from it. It’s a top-heavy approach; I inverted it to see if it’s possible to come up with curatorial statements as the Biennale progresses. I’ve already written four statements and I’m in the process of writing the fifth one. When the catalogue comes out, you will be able to see how each statement was layered over the period of the Biennale.
Curator’s Insights…
Speaking with Sudarshan Shetty Sudarshan Shetty was born in Mangalore in 1961, but moved to Mumbai as a child. Trained as a painter from the Sir JJ School of Art, he found his interests swerving towards sculptures and public installations. His works have mainly focussed on sculptural installations and multi-media works. His solo shows are extremely popular and his works have been exhibited in places such as the World Economic Forum, Davos and the Guggenheim Museum, New York.
What is the theme of the event?
It’s titled ‘Forming in the Pupil of the Eye.’ It comes from an old Vedic analogy wherein a sage opens his eye to the world and he assimilates all the multiplicities in one momentary vision. Also, with the eye being the only reflective surface in the body, most of our philosophical ideas comes from our physiology.
How do you express your art in times where people are more polarised? Trolls for example lash out at any one who does not confirm with their world-view…
One of the roles of an artist is to critique the society we are living in. At times, he needs take the role of a watchdog. And there is no one way to express your opinion on what is happening around you. The key is to be effective. We might need to find different ways to stand up against something, in ways that cannot be silenced easily. We are living in a unique situation. Such a level of narrow-mindedness is unprecedented. We need to counter it by presenting multiplicity as a part of one seamless whole, rather than in their individual layers. That is the challenge for artists and that is what we are trying to do in the Biennale. My role as a curator is to map those multiple worldviews into one cohesive narrative.
How has the Biennale fared in helping artists sell their work?
The Biennale is not a place where you buy and sell; it’s a place where you confront an artwork, without any preexisting notions or biases. I’m not against art and commerce, but this is a space created outside of the market for people to have a direct communion with art. We have other spaces like fairs and galleries for buying and selling art.
The People’s Biennale…
In conversation with Riyas Komu Riyas Komu was born in 1971 near Thrissur in Kerala. He moved to Mumbai to study literature but dropped out to pursue an education in Fine Arts from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1999. As an artist, Riyas’ work spans different mediums and genres and is noted for his political overtones, as a symbol of protest. He is the current Director of Programmes of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
How has the Biennale been reaching out to the larger society?
Along with Sudarshan’s major project, we are also running parallel programs which is one of the prime areas of focus for the Biennale Foundation. We have the Student’s Biennale in which the works of 465 students are exhibited. They have travelled here and are able to see what is happening. The idea is not just to present their artworks; there is an initiative from our side to change the policy regarding art in the current education system. Another important project we are doing is the Art by Children (ABC) project under the leadership of Manu Jose, a leading artist. We’ve been reaching out to more than 100 schools and 5000 children directly, even going to remote parts of Kerala. In the next stage we are planning for a performer and a professional artist to go to schools with the aim of stronger artistic interventions. We want ABC to be an investment in the future where schools adopt art as one of the primary resources for nurturing creativity in the minds of children.
This year, we are working with the Kudumbasree units. We have selected 45 Kudumbasree members with an inclination towards art. They were brought here for a 10 day workshop and were given an orientation to contemporary art and what the Biennale is doing. Next year we will bring them back to the Pepper House International Residency Program for a month, away from their family obligations, where they would stay and paint. The Government will collect their work and they will also be paid an honorarium. We are trying to take art to the homes and hearths of Kerala. We need to do these socially engaging projects to make the Biennale more relevant among the community. The initiatives are run on various levels. Last year, we were able to showcase about 162 films. This year too, we would be looking to show a similar number. We are hoping to rope in the best curators and film personalities to make a great package. In addition to this, we have talks and seminars which have led Kochi to become a site of conversations. This is a larger, collective initiative whereas the current generation of artists, we want to invest our learning into the next generation.
Are the projects under the Kochi Muziris Biennale banner being conducted elsewhere in the state or country or are they limited to the city of Kochi?
Sudarshan took a strong decision to connect the Biennale with Muziris in Kottapuram. The main Biennale is not the only platform which takes the dialogue out. The Student’s Biennale is one of the platforms which had a pan India reach of 55 art schools and institutions. This is our biggest outreach programme. It is not just a city-centric exercise, but the city is a message where Kochi becomes a site for multi-culturalism. Last year, we had site-specific artworks produced in Kochi, displayed in other venues. This is also a process for taking the message out. The message of the Biennale or the legacy of Muziris or Kochi is bound to travel outside as it is a successful project.
The President of India, Hon. Pranab Mukherjee had also visited the Biennale. How do you feel about that?
I remember an incident recently, where I was having breakfast and noticed the waiter was extra-caring when he served me food. Later on, he mentioned how proud he was of the work we were doing. The fact that the President of India was visiting our event had left a mark on him. That’s how things have evolved over the last six years. I feel it’s a great gesture by the President to visit the Biennale. This is recognition of a project in which the society was actively involved, where the struggles of society matched ours, albeit on a different level.
The Makings of an Event…
Up close with Bose Krishnamachari Born in 1963, at a village near Angamaly in Kerala, Bose Krishnamachari is an acclaimed painter and curator based out of Mumbai. Having graduated out of the Sir JJ School of Art, he has exhibited his work across the world and won numerous awards. His work comprises of abstract paintings, figurative drawings, sculpture, photography, multimedia installations and architecture. He is the founding member and President of the Kochi Biennale Foundation.
What is the Biennale and why is it important to Kochi?
The Biennale focuses on showcasing contemporary art and cutting-edge practices. There are over 100 biennales around the world. Manifesta, which happens in different cities of Europe, is one of the most important international Biennales. From an Indian point of view, we have a Triennale conducted by the Delhi Lalit Kala Akademi since 1968. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is the only one in the world conceived by artists, run by artists and curated by artists; the difference can be seen in the projects we undertake. From the first edition itself, we invited artists from outside and the works were produced on site. We believe the site is important and hence the need to work from the site. Events like the Biennale have a significant impact on urban landscapes and have been known to transform a city by giving it vibrancy and youthfulness.
One of the cited examples is the case of *Bilbao in Spain which was able to bounce back from economic depression after they spent about $800 million on transforming some of their open spaces into cultural landmarks. They were able to recoup the investment in six years time and has led to a reduction in unemployment. While it would be naive to think that a museum or an art festival can singlehandedly revive a city’s tumbling fortunes, we can safely say that when the conditions are right, art and culture can spur economic activity, redefine the very look and feel of the city and offer its citizens a vision of the future.
What has been your experience in running the Biennale for the past six years? What were the challenges you faced initially?
The most important aspect of a biennale is its location. Is there enough space to host multiple venues and whether the art installations can be preserved for the period of its display? We first got funding of Rs.5 crore with which we renovated the Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi’s Durbar Hall Art Gallery. We took it over and converted it into a world class exhibition space. The best lighting was used. We roped in Vikas Dilawari, one of the best conservation architects who worked on the UNSECO World Heritage Site nomination for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai.
People were not happy with the kind of money we spent and a few controversies brewed. We were not disheartened by all this, but took it as a challenge. It was our belief that the work was more important and we financed the rest of the event from our own pockets. We each put down a quarter of a million dollars. This was our only chance; we had to make it happen. The total cost of the first Biennale came to about $3 million. Even then people were sceptical. In the initial years, we needed to create awareness about the Biennale. We hired a PR company, conducted outreach programmes, and published catalogues which went a long way in helping people associate with what we were trying to do. And things picked up from there.
Who is the curator for this edition and what role does he play in the making of a Biennale?
The curator is the boss. Whatever they decide is the ultimate thing. We tried to ensure their freedom in creating the programme. This is the difference when artists are running the Biennale. We understand the artist’s mind and how the works are produced. We cannot have this curated under militant rule. We would like to have structure, but we want to maintain flexibility. For this edition, the curator is Sudarshan Shetty. He was unanimously chosen by a 10 member committee. He is known for his large-scale and ambitious public installations.
How do you raise funds for the Biennale?
Since the KBF falls under the scope of CSR, we do have quite a lot of corporate support. This year, our biggest supporter was South Indian Bank. They provided us with Rs.1 Crore. Mr Yusuf Ali was also major contributor. We had an interesting collaboration with Asian Paints. They created a new colour for us, ‘Biennale White’ which we used to paint the venues and the display. But, the overall support of corporate sponsors from Kerala was disappointing. We’ve got a great response from individual donors – architects, art lovers and friends.
*Bilbao – When Art Made a Difference
Bilbao in the late 80s was a Basque city with a dilapidated industry, sliding slowly into a violent and unsavoury oblivion. Few would have given the city any hope of recovery, let alone imagine it turning into an example to follow. Yet, if you were to stand in front of its largest cultural edifice, the Guggenheim Museum, you’d be surprised that this city was once known for its notoriety. In 1997, when the city was undergoing its worst bout of economic recession, an ambitious mayor decided to spend about 100 million euros to build the Guggenheim museum as a part of an effort to revitalize the city. With such a large amount of public money involved, it was subject to controversy and opposition. Though in the years to follow, it would go on to prove its critics wrong by generating money to the tune of 400 million euros every year. The success of Guggenheim museum was instrumental in many of the initiatives that followed suit pushing the city into becoming a cultural hub.
Interview: Sangheeta Bhattacharya
Text: Anish Shankar
Photos: Jinson Abraham
Styling: Lakshmi Babu
Makeup: Blessy Mary Chacko
Retouch: Nimal Neeraj
Digital Copy : https://goo.gl/E4YMnD