KOCHI:
Top Biennale functionaries from across the world have converged in Kochi for three days of official deliberations that began on Saturday. The event, concluding with a public conference on Monday, overlaps with the ongoing Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the subcontinent’s biggest contemporary art festival.
The International Biennale Association (IBA) is holding its fifth General Assembly over the weekend. The meet’s first two days feature board meetings and a general assembly (Sunday) of the members of the Association that based in Gwangju, South Korea. These are closed-door. The final day’s conference will be open for the public.
The public conference, titled ‘Shifting Borders: Biennials in Transforming Landscapes’, will be held at the Biennale Pavilion in Cabral Yard of Fort Kochi. The Kochi Biennale Foundation is co-hosting the four-hour meet that starts at 2 pm.
The keynote address will be delivered by Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. She will share her experiences and work with numerous biennials. This will be followed by panel discussions, covering topics from biennials and community to altered geographies, in order to further explore the role of biennials and their ability to connect art with communities.
The 2012-founded IBA’s President Hoor al Qasimi, who also heads the Sharjah Art Foundation, will speak. Select IBA members from around the world will give presentations about their biennials and institutions with a view to increase representation while offering opportunities for collaborations.
The presentations will be given by Aichi Triennale, Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Biennale of Sydney, Land Art Mongolia, Manifesta, Media Arts Biennial Chile, Rencontres de Bamako and the Atlantic Project.
