Students’ Biennale to feature works of over 350 art students from 55 schools

Second edition of year-long KBF outreach initiative culminates in exhibition at KMB 2016.
SB 2016 to open on December 13 and run concurrent to the Biennale until March 2017

Kochi, Nov 15: The second edition of the Students’ Biennale (SB) – a unique art educational initiative unparalleled in India in its scope and ambit – will provide a one-of-its-kind exhibitory platform for the works of over 350 aspiring artists from 55 schools across the country at India’s biggest art event that starts next month.

Kochi Biennale Foundation Secretary Riyas Komu along with
Students' Biennale curators on a site visit in Fort Kochi

SB 2016 will be inaugurated on December 13 – a day after the opening of the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) – by Prof C. Raveendranath, Minister for Education, Government of Kerala. It will be spread out over seven venues in historic Fort Kochi.

First held in 2014, the SB is a core programme in the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s (KBF) educational outreach to promote contemporary art practice in India. It is run in collaboration with the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) and the Foundation for Indian Art and Education (FIAE) and is supported by Tata Trusts.

Driven by 15 emerging curators, the project reaches out to art schools throughout India, to encourage art students to reflect on their practices and showcase their works on a international stage. The SB thus channels the energies of a global art event into the art education system, challenging students to go beyond the constraints of both curriculum and exhibition.

With the Biennale, which runs from 12/12/16 through 29/03/17, the exhibiting students and curators have the perfect avenue to showcase their works to an audience of roughly half a million people over its duration.

The immediate intent of the SB is to expose its participants to the processes that go into making and presenting a world class art event and the nuances of curatorship. It also gives them an opportunity to acquire skills to pursue a career in the contemporary art world and encourage discourse on the state of art education in India.

The Students' Biennale will be spread over seven venues in the historic Mattancherry - Jew Town area of Fort Kochi: M.K. Trades, Kotachery Brothers & co., Arjuna Art Gallery, Heritage Arts, Mattancherry Temple Property, Mohammed Ali Warehouse and Fadi Hall.

The curators for SB 2016 are: Adwait Singh, Aryan, Ajit Kumar, Faiza Hasan, C.P. Krishnapriya, Harshita Bathwal, Naveen Mahantesh, Noman Amouri, Paribartana Mohanty, Rajyashree Goody, Sarojini Lewis, Shatavisha Mustafi, Shruti Ramlingiah, Sumitra Sunder and Vivek Chockalingam.

They were selected in November last year from amongst hundreds of aspirants by a panel of project mentors that included KBF President Bose Krishnamachari, KMB Director of Programmes Riyas Komu, Education Consultant Meena Vari and FICA Director Vidya Shivadas.

Over the course of the year, they reached out to 45 government and 10 private art schools – about three-four schools per curator – across India, conducting institution visits, organising workshops and interventions, and interacting with BFA and MFA students.

The Students' Biennale – a unique art educational initiative by the Kochi Biennale Foundation – is wholly driven by 15 student curators. It will provide a one-of-its-kind exhibitory platform for the works of over 350 aspiring artists from 55 schools across the country at Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016.

SB 2016 will be the culmination of their individual journeys, research, insights and interests. It also includes collateral projects such as the initiative’s zine Pandemonium, local exhibitions of the initial outcomes from curatorial interventions and a schedule of programmes to be presented during the exhibition.

SB 2016 will be presented across seven venues in the historic Mattancherry - Jew Town area of Fort Kochi: M.K. Trades, Kotachery Brothers & co., Arjuna Art Gallery, Heritage Arts, Mattancherry Temple Property, Mohammed Ali Warehouse and Fadi Hall.