12/12/12 at 12 o’clock. That’s not another end-of-the-world prophecy. It’s the official start time of India’s first-ever biennale, an international art exhibition that is set to take over the southern city of Kochi for the next three months.
Artists often complain that India’s contemporary art scene is too market-focused , with galleries and trade fairs dominating this space. The aim of Kochi’s biannual event is to help change that by providing a platform that focuses on the art, rather than on the art market.
“We hope it will become a hub to launch a discourse on art,” says Riyas Komu, co-curator of the Kochi biennale.
At a concert Wednesday evening for the biennale’s opening, British musician and artist M.I.A. will take the stage. Best-known for her song “Paper Planes,” featured in the Academy Award-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire,” M.I.A., who grew up between Sri Lanka and India before moving to the U.K., is expected to draw a crowd of around 50,000.
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