It's curtains on Kochi's biggest art festival

KOCHI: The country's first biennale-Kochi Muziris Biennale will come to a close on Sunday, creating a space for contemporary visual art in the Indian art scene. The event that began on December 12 last year was extended for four days beyond its scheduled date to March 13. The event saw a total of four lakh visitors, with 400-500 foreign tourists on a single day.
What set the event apart was that it attracted people from all walks of life. Held in 14 venues in and around fort Kochi and Ernakulam, the biennale has also made significant contributions to the economy as it attracted tourists from India and abroad.
The organizers of the event, Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, said that Kochi would carry on the legacy of the show, and the coming days would see a flurry of activities related to art. The artworks exhibited at the biennale are also travelling to cities across the world for various shows.
"A transition is happening, and we are glad that the biennale could effectively merge the heritage aspects of Kochi and Muziris with art. The events planned post-biennale would focus on keeping people connected with art," said Riyas Komu, co-curator of the event, and secretary of the Kochi biennale foundation.
Though the biennale began with its share of controversies, Bose Krishnamachari said that they helped to gather support too. A portion of the state government's financial assistance is still pending, he said.
The next edition of the biennale would begin on December 12, 2014. On Sunday, the biennale flag will be lowered at 6pm at the Aspinwall House--the main venue of the event. Union minister K V Thomas, mayor Tony Chammany, former minister M A Baby, and MLAs Hibi Eden and Dominic Presentation will be present. After the programme, there will be a 'thank you' walk from Aspinwall House to the Parade Ground. Kaav, a local music band, will perform at Vasco da Gama Square to mark the end of the three-month-long festival.