Online crowd-funding drive launched for Kochi Muziris Biennale 2014

·         Organisers of India’s biggest art event target Rs 15 crores in 90 days

Kochi, Nov 15: India's biggest contemporary art event, the Kochi Muziris Biennale has launched an online crowdfunding drive to engage the public and raise much-needed funds for the event.

The Biennale’s campaign, the first-of-its-kind in India, is hosted on the crowdfunding platform Catapoolt and targets Rs 15 crores in 90 days. Social media forums—always good at picking up the sense of urgency in matters—are already abuzz with the news. Ardent KMB supporters MP Shashi Tharoor and film maker Aashiq Abu, both with highly followed twitter accounts, have been quick to retweet the crowdfunding news.

The second edition of the Biennale, curated by renowned artist Jitish Kallat, will run for 108 days starting from December 12 and will feature the works of 94 artists from 30 countries.

“An event of this scale needs all the support it can get, but our campaign objective is not just to raise funds; we want to make it participatory, allow people to take ownership of it and feel proud of it,” said Riyas Komu, the Secretary of the KBF.

Kochi Muziris Biennale 2014 has a projected budget of Rs 26 crore and has been pledged some government support and corporate sponsorship. The crowd-funding drive, besides helping meet part of the costs, is expected to raise the profile of the Biennale worldwide.

“We request everyone to take this donation drive seriously. The Biennale makes a major cultural impact and brings valuable international focus to the region,” said Komu, who co-curated the first Biennale and is an accomplished artist based in Mumbai.

The campaign on Catapoolt, which has worked on 35 crowdfunding projects in India, allows people anywhere in the world to make contributions, big or small, and offers rewards for every contribution made. The site is also accessible through KMB’s official website.

Of the projected Rs 26-crore budget, a chunk would go towards shipment of artists’ works from India and abroad. “While the state government, corporates, individual patrons and art lovers have responded positively, the money has been trickling in,” Komu said.

Satish Kataria, managing director of Catapooolt, said he believed that community support can make events like the Biennale bigger. “Also, it can be made more impactful. We can engage art aficionados around the world to be more participative and celebrate what they love to see,” he added.