Biennial Foundation and Kochi Biennale Foundation co-host a symposium on emerging platforms for contemporary art in India, 15-16 December 2016. The symposium is part of the launch week for India’s Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the largest contemporary art event in the country, which takes place from  12 December 2012 – 29 March 2013 across venues in the Fort Kochi area, Kerala, India. The two-day symposium programme (December 15-16) includes speakers Geeta Kapur, Sarat Maharaj, Ranjit Hoskote, Gayatri Sinha, Pooja Sood and Nancy Adajania. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale presents the curatorial vision for its third edition, entitled forming in the pupil of an eye, and names the participating artists. The Biennale opens on December 12 and runs for 108 days, closing March 29, and is the largest contemporary art biennial in South Asia. The third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is curated by acclaimed Indian artist Sudarshan Shetty. Long recognized as one of his generation’s most innovative artists, and best known for his enigmatic sculptural installations, the Biennale will be Shetty’s first curatorial project. Shetty’s vision for the 2016 Biennale draws from mythical accounts of India as the “land of seven rivers.” The idea of streams flowing, converging and diverging underlies the curatorial questions which KMB 2016 will raise and the knowledge explored through the display and performance of the selected artworks. Looking at motifs such as tradition and community, the central question asks: what does it mean to be together in time—to be contemporary?

Artist list

Abhishek Hazra (India), Abir Karmakar (India), Achraf Touloub (Morocco/France), AES+F (Russia), Ahmet Öğüt (Turkey/Germany), Aki Sasamoto (Japan/USA), Aleksandra Ska (Poland), Aleš Šteger (Slovenia), Alicja Kwade (Poland/Germany), Anamika Haksar (India), Avinash Veeraraghavan (India), Bara Bhaskaran (India), C Bhagyanath (India), Camille Norment (USA/Norway), Carl Pruscha and Eva Schlegel (Austria), Caroline Duchatelet (France), Charles Avery (United Kingdom), Chittrovanu Mazumdar (India),Chris Mann(Australia/USA), Dana Awartani (Saudi Arabia), Daniele Galliano (Italy), Desmond Lazaro (India/United Kingdom), Dia Mehta Bhupal (India), Endri Dani (Albania), Erik van Lieshout (Netherlands), Éva Magyarósi(Hungary), Eva Schlegel(Austria), François Mazabraud (France), Gabriel Lester (Netherlands), Gauri Gill(India), Gary Hill (USA), Hanna Tuulikki (United Kingdom), Himmat Shah (India), Javier Peréz (Spain), Jonathan Owen (United Kingdom), Kabir Mohanty (India), Katarina Zdjelar (Netherlands), Katrīna Neiburga and Andris Eglītis (Latvia), Lantian Xie (UAE), Leighton Pierce (USA), Lundahl & Seitl (Sweden), Mansi Bhatt (India), Martin Walde (Austria), Mikhail Karikis (United Kingdom/Greece), Miller Puckette (USA),  Naiza Khan (Pakistan/United Kingdom), Nicola Durvasula and John Tilbury (United Kingdom), Orijit Sen (India), Ouyang Jianghe (China), Padmini Chettur (India), Paweł Althamer (Poland), Pedro Gómez Egaña (Colombia/Norway), Prabhavathi Meppayil (India), Praneet Soi (India/Holland), Rachel Maclean (United Kingdom), Ravi Agarwal (India), Raul Zurita (Chile), Remen Chopra (India), Sergio Chejfec (Argentina/USA), Sharmistha Mohanty (India), Sirous Namazi (Iran/Sweden), Sophie Dejode and Bertrand Lacombe (France), Stan Douglas (Canada), Subrat Behera (India), Sunil Padwal (India), Takayuki Yamamoto (Japan), Tom Burckhardt (USA), Tony Joseph (India), T.V. Santhosh (India), Valerie Mejer (Mexico), Voldemārs Johansons (Latvia), Yael Efrati (Israel), Yardena Kurulkar (India),  Yuko Mohri (Japan), Zuleikha Chaudhari (India) The main exhibition and an ancillary programme of talks, seminars, workshops, film screenings, and music will take place across a range of venues in Kochi, Kerala, India.