KOCHI:
The ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) continues to receive visits from educational institutions near and far with faculty and students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) making a field trip this week.
For Katherine Trimble, part of the 20-member SAIC group, the visit was an opportunity to explore t
“Sound art is the most direct way of engaging with art and if music is any indication, sound can affect your emotions immediately without any thought or explanation. I am a sound artist and I find the sound works here just incredible. It is really refreshing to see that sound art is so valued in this Biennale,” said Trimble, who was also drawn by Gabriel Lester’s ‘Dwelling Kappiri Spirits’ and Raúl Zurita’s ‘Sea of Pain’ installations.
The group received briefings by Sudarshan Shetty on his curatorial vision for and the making of KMB 2016 and KMB co-founder Bose Krishnamachari on the many art education and community engagement initiatives undertaken by the Kochi Biennale Foundation.
“We are really amazed to see the co-operation of the community here, which is a unique aspect to this Biennale. Even the posters put up at spaces beyond the venues have not been torn off,” said Kayla Parsons, during a Q&A session with Shetty at Aspinwall House.
Responding to the comment, Shetty said, “It speaks to the relationship between the community and the Biennale and their sense of ownership. Moreover, Kerala has a long tradition of promoting these kinds of soft power initiatives, like the film society movement for example.”
Over the past week, the Biennale also received students from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in Bengaluru, the Al-Haramain English School in Kozhikode, L’ecole Chempaka in Thiruvananthapuram and Isha Home school from Coimbatore, among others.
During their conversations with Shetty and Krishnamachari, the students said they were amazed by local enthusiasm for the Biennale in the Fort Kochi and Mattancherry areas, where 11 KMB 2016 venues are located.
“Unlike other biennales, we have a year-long art outreach portfolio running even in non-Biennale years – from unique educational initiatives such as the Students’ Biennale and Art by Children to the Pepper House Residency programme, Arts and Medicine performances and the Let’s Talk series. This keeps us involved in the community,” Krishnamachari said.
