4-5 / 68
2
3
Biennale sustainable, and expand its programming and other activities. We are
making constant improvements to our management and financial systems and
have continued to steadily operate under the watchful eye of our government
patrons and an eminent board of trustees and advisors.
The first Kochi-Muziris Biennale fundraiser auction took place in 2015, with
generously donated works from our fraternity of patron artists. This second edition
of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale fundraiser auction aims to generate funds to sustain
the Foundation’s activities in the run-up to the next edition of the Biennale in
2018, which will be curated by artist Anita Dube. This is a special auction in that
it is an effort of collaboration, donation and participation, with our partners
Saffronart—in particular its owners, Minal and Dinesh Vazirani; and the 39 artists
who have donated their work for the cause of this Biennale. We would like to
thank A Ramachandran, Abir Karmakar, Amrita Sher-Gil, Anant Joshi, Atul Dodiya,
Benitha Perciyal, Bhagyanath C, Bharat Sikka, Bharti Kher, Bijoy Jain, Francesco
Clemente, Gauri Gill, Gigi Scaria, Himmat Shah, G R Iranna, Jagannath Panda, Jalaja
P S, K P Reji, Manisha Parekh, Manjunath Kamath, Parvathi Nayar, Prajakta Palav,
Prajakta Potnis, Praneet Soi, Pushpamala N, Aditya Pande, Manish Nai, Remen
Chopra, Sahej Rahal, Saju Kunhan, Sanam C N, Siji Krishnan, Sosa Joseph, Subodh
Gupta, Sujith S N, Sunil K R, T V Santhosh, Thukral and Tagra, Varunika Saraf, Vivan
Sundaram and Vivek Vilasini.
The values attached to this auction cannot be fully estimated in justmonetary terms,
because this auction is about supporting public participation in contemporary art,
and helping the Biennale achieve its goal of self-sustenance. The Kochi Biennale
Foundation is especially grateful to our artist patrons for their contribution and
symbol of faith for an event that is now best known as the People’s Biennale.
THE TRUSTEES
Kochi Biennale Foundation
FOREWORD
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale was born of the conviction that art is important to
our way of life, as a medium of introspection, education, and understanding. The
Biennale was meant to be an enabling platform, offering viewers and practitioners
the opportunity to interact, react and build. It is now seven years since the Kochi
Biennale Foundation was formed, and began the work of producing India’s
Biennale. In these seven years, three editions of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale have
taken place, and what has taken shape is the largest exhibition of its kind in the
region.
Since its genesis from the midst of the Indian contemporary art fraternity, KMB
has played catalyst to the production of hundreds of artworks, and hosted over 15
lakh visitors, and Kochi is now recognised as an important site for contemporary
art. None of this would have been possible without the exceptional participation
and sense of ownership the Indian art fraternity has felt towards this event. And
it is this fraternity, our fraternity, that has helped India’s Biennale scale despite
the odds.
Since the beginning, every edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale has faced its own
challenges, which eventually become lessons to learn. KMB 2016, under Curator
Sudarshan Shetty, had an overwhelming response from the community and the
public, pulling in more than 6 lakh visitors that included everyone from heads-
of-state to our Fort Kochi neighbours and others in between. KBF’s education
programmes like Students’ Biennale, and Art By Children, became marquee
education programmes. Alongside, the Foundation was able to put together a
stellar Programme selection with cinema, music, talks, seminars, dance, theatre
and folk art performances, every single day of the Biennale’s 108-day run.
As India’s Biennale and the only exhibition of its kind in our part of the world,
these programmes have generated an unprecedented level of participation
at a local level whilst also capturing the imagination of the South Asian and
international art fraternity. We are continuously working towards making the