JSW Foundation Extends Strong Support to the Kochi Biennale Foundation

KOCHI:
Dr Venu V, the Chairperson of the Kochi Biennale Foundation has informed that Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation has come on board as a Platinum Benefactor with a generous grant over a five-year period.

He said the MoU between Kochi Biennale Foundation and JSW Foundation marks the beginning of a long-term association of the Foundation with Biennale. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the flagship event of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, has won national and international acclaim as India’s premier mega-art event, which is uniquely accessible to art lovers and members of the public alike.

“We are delighted to have Sangita Jindal’s support and friendship! Over the years she has actively supported the Kochi Muziris Biennale and other endeavours to build the arts ecosystem in the country, more recently with the Hampi Art Labs! We welcome her ideas and visionary courage, and look forward to growing into a new era at the foundation,” said Bose Krishnamachari, President of the Kochi Muziris Biennale.

A visionary who believes in the transformative power of art, Sangita set up the Jindal Arts Creative Interaction Centre (JACIC) at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in 1994. She also publishes Art India Magazine, which has been a chronicler of the Indian art scene since 1996.

As one of India’s most prominent philanthropists, patrons and collectors, she has supported art and heritage through numerous projects, both at home and globally. Her efforts to preserve heritage for future generations led to extensive restoration work at the Hampi temple complex in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, and the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue and iconic David Sassoon Library and Reading Room in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The projects received conservation awards and an award of merit respectively from UNESCO. She has recently undertaken the restoration of the Shalimar Bagh – the world-renowned Mughal Garden in Srinagar, Kashmir.

Sangita founded Hampi Art Labs, an art residency and exhibition space aimed at nurturing artists globally. She encourages and invests in art as a practice. She supports the AD x JSW Prize for Contemporary Craftsmanship and is supporting the next edition of The Indian Ceramics Triennale.

Sangita is an Eisenhower Fellow, serving on the Board of Trustees of the World Monuments Fund – India Chapter and as an Advisor on the Khoj Board. She is a member of the Tate International Council, the UN Women Business Sector Advisory Council (BSAC), a Governing Board Member of Mumbai First and a global trustee of ‘Asia Society’. She has also been elected as Chairperson of the Asia Society India Centre in 2024. She has recently been brought on as a member of the India Advisory Council of the British Asian Trust, UK. Sangita was recognized by Vogue India as ‘Heritage Keeper of the Year’ in 2019 in recognition of her work preserving cultural heritage in India. She also received the Golden Peacock Award for Social and Cultural Leadership, 2019.