NAMASTE!

THE FOURTH EDITION OF THE KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE IS CURATED BY EMINENT ARTIST ANITA DUBE. THAT’S THE WAY SHE SEES IT!

In its title, the Biennale is an invocation of the latent cosmopolitan spirit of the contemporary metropolis, Kochi, as well as its mythical past - the ancient port of Muziris, a centre of trade and cultural exchange that is still an active archaeological site. In spirit, the Biennale seeks to explore resonances of this past alongside the pluralities of the present in the current global context to posit alternatives to dominant political and cultural discourses. Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an invitation of dialogue for new aesthetics and politics -rooted in its socio-geographical setting, but receptive to winds blowing in from other worlds.

RIGHT:
KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE 2018
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ANITA DUBE
Curator
ABOVE:
KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE 2018
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ANITA DUBE
Curator

ANITA DUBE - Born in Lucknow in 1958, Anita Dube completed her BA (History) from Delhi University in 1979 and her MVA (Art Criticism) from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda in 1982. As a member of Radical Painters and Sculptors Association, she wrote the manifesto of the seminal exhibition ‘Questions and Dialogue’ in 1987. Dube is the co-founder and board member of KHOJ International Artists’ Association, and has contributed texts to many publications on contemporary art.  Anita lives and works in Gr. Noida, India.

The fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is curated by eminent artist Anita Dube. Her appointment as curator, unanimously decided upon by an Artistic Advisory Committee put together by the Kochi Biennale Foundation at the beginning of last year, stays with the Biennale’s tradition of being an exhibition helmed by an art practitioner.

"The public stage will belong to everybody who wants to claim it. I'll open up that structure, and it's for people to claim that structure." 
ANITA DUBE

On curating an exhibition of this scale, Dube notes: “My earliest intuitive vision for this edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale to explore the possibilities for a non-alienated life has remained with me. The need to listen, think, and learn with each other, particularly voices from the margins—of women, of the queer community, the oppressed castes, the whispers and signs of nature—with a spirit of freedom and comradeship is vital. In both the exhibition and the carefully designed interactive spaces, I hope the incredible range of exhibiting artists and visitors will become active participants and co-producers of the Biennale as a knowledge laboratory.”

As part of her research and curatorial process, Dube visited a total of 29 countries where she was hosted by a wide array of arts institutions and independent supporters of the Biennale. Her artist list, reflects the dynamic range of practises and conversations she shared along the way.

THE KOCHI BIENNALE FOUNDATION (KBF) is a non-profit charitable trust engaged in promoting art & culture and educational activities in India; primary amongst them the hosting of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. KBF works around the year to strengthen contemporary art infrastructure and to broaden public access to art across India. The Kochi Biennale Foundation is also engaged in the conservation of heritage properties and monuments and the upliftment of traditional forms of art and culture. KBF was founded in 2010 by artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu.

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KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE

Seeks to invoke the cosmopolitan spirit of the modern metropolis of Kochi and its mythical past, Muziris, create a platform that introduce contemporary international visual art theory and practice to India.

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