6th Kochi-Muziris Biennale curated by Nikhil Chopra to begin from Dec 12

New Delhi | The 6th edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will begin from December 12 across various sites in Kochi, the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) announced on Wednesday.

Titled "For the Time Being", the biennale will be curated by artist Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, a Goa-based artist-led organisation.

The 110-day international contemporary art exhibition will feature a diverse programme of talks, performances, workshops, and film screenings, as well as programme verticals including the Students' Biennale, Invitations, Art By Children, the Residency Programme and the Collateral.

Even though the full list of artists will be announced in October, a curatorial note by Chopra said that the KMB will embrace process as methodology and position 'friendship economies' as the very scaffolding of the exhibition.

The biennale will move away from the convention model of a singular, central exhibition-event. It has been envisioned as a living ecosystem "one where each element shares space, time, and resources, and grows in dialogue with each other".

"In Kochi, a historic port city where trade once connected distant worlds, we begin with our site and region to engage in dialogue with emerging global perspectives. This rootedness allows us to resist the pressures of the conventional biennale model as a finished spectacle, and instead shape something that is evolving, responsive, and alive," Chopra said in the note.

The multidisciplinary artist said that the biennale will be shaped by the generative force of the "ecological, political, and emotional precarity of Kochi", as he invited artists to seek resonance across geography and time, "to trace shared memories, mirrored struggles, and new affinities rooted in empathy and deep listening".

"We would much rather learn from the complexities of human history, choosing to confront the contradictions and fragilities of our present. While we recognise that art alone may not change the world, we believe when cultures collide, that encounter can, at the very least, provoke conversations," he said.

Chopra added that performances, actions and conversations will bring alive the 110 days of the Biennale.

"Durational works that blur process and presentation will invite audiences into embodied, participatory moments, challenging a static exhibition. We believe this is what a Biennale can be: a space of aliveness, presence, and communion. A place where people come together, not just to see art, but to be with it, and with each other,” he said.

“This edition of the biennale is also an invitation to think through embodied histories, of those that came before us and continue to live within us in the form of cells, stories and techniques,” he added.

Bose Krishnamachari, president of Kochi-Muziris Biennale, said that Chopra's emphasis on durational exhibitions and performances will be a highlight of the sixth edition.

“Those visiting the biennale will be introduced to an immersive atmosphere, featuring spectacular artworks and site-responsive installations. The event will also offer abundant opportunities to engage with artists and fellow art enthusiasts, and witness the layered cultural life of Kochi, a city where global and local currents converge and diverge all at once,” he said.

The last edition of the Biennale was curated by Singapore-based artist and writer Shubigi Rao and ran from December 2022 to March 2023. The fifth edition courted controversy for its alleged delays, unavailability of venues, and overall mismanagement.

Starting from December 12, the sixth edition of KMB will conclude on March 31, 2026.