Students Biennale to feature works of aspiring artists from schools
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Kochi: The Students Biennale (SB), an art education initiative, will feature the works of around 470 aspiring artists from 55 schools across the country in an exhibition that runs parallel to Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016.
Minister for Education Prof C Raveendranath will inaugurate SB 2016, the second edition of the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s flagship art outreach effort, with an opening ceremony on December 13 at The Biennale Pavilion in Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi.
The SB, second only to the Biennale in terms of scale and reach, will be on till March 29 next year. 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 practises and showcase their works on an international stage.
Speaking at a press conference here Saturday, KBF President Bose Krishnamachari said with the Students Biennale running in concurrence with KMB 2016, the exhibiting students and presenting curators have the perfect avenue to showcase their works to an audience of roughly half a million people over its near four month long duration.
"The SB will channel the energies of the Biennale platform into the Indian art education system, challenging students to go beyond the constraints imposed by both curriculum and exhibition," he said.
While the immediate objective is to expose its participants to processes that go into making and presenting a world class art event, SB is also an opportunity to acquire skills to pursue a career in the contemporary art world.
The SB 2016 curators 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 2015 from among hundreds of aspirants by a panel of project mentors that included Krishnamachari, KMB Director of Programmes Riyas Komu, Education Consultant Meena Vari and FICA Director Vidya Shivadas.
