Art world dismayed over last-minute postponement of Kochi Biennale’s main show

Delay in making available Aspinwall House for timely repairs and exhibition-related groundwork blamed.

Scores of art enthusiasts, artists, art patrons and tourists who flew in from around the world to Fort Kochi for the Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB), an artists-driven international festival of contemporary art, were in for a rude surprise on its opening day on Monday when they realised that the main show curated by Shubigi Rao would not open until December 23.  

The four-month-long biennale was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan late on Monday evening. But the scene at Aspinwall House, the main venue that would feature about 60% of the works by 90 artists part of the main show, was reminiscent of the opening day of KMB’s maiden edition exactly 10 years ago, in 2012.  

Groups of workers were busy shoveling gravel on the soggy pathways of the colonial era warehouse. Whitewashing of the inner walls was under way at a frenetic pace in some areas where art works covered in polythene sheets were kept ready for mounting. Unpacked cartons of audiovisual and electrical equipment were strewn along the corridors. Rolled-up mats, paint containers and scaffolds lay in the foyer of a building on the campus.  

“If you were not opening today, you could’ve announced it well in advance. The last-minute change of schedule has inconvenienced many who have travelled in from other parts of India and abroad,” Rita, a visitor from Stockholm, was questioning Bose Krishnamachari, the president of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) at the gate. There were many like her, dismayed that they were kept in the dark about the main show, held across Aspinwall House, Pepper House and Anand Warehouse, not being ready on the opening day.  

“The Students’ Biennale and the invited exhibitions at 11 other venues would all be available for viewing as scheduled,” Mr. Krishnamachari tried to pacify them. In a conversation with The Hindu, he blamed the situation on the delay in making available Aspinwall House, owned by the DLF, for timely repairs and exhibition-related groundwork.  

Kerala tourism department’s negotiations with DLF to acquire the property for about ₹65 to ₹80 crore ended in a deadlock following which the property and the nearby Cabral Yard, where the biennale pavilion is traditionally built, were locked up on November 20 only to be reopened on December 1. The Hindu has learnt that the KBF gained custody of the property by paying a lease amount of ₹ 21 lakh and a guarantee of another ₹ 10 lakh for both properties.  

“Back in November itself, we realised we had a job at hand, as the buildings were in a bad shape and the roofs had collapsed at some places. Then we had a problem getting some works from abroad released by Customs. With the State Bank of India failing to execute a bank guarantee for the safe return of works even after 20 days, we sought the help of Bank of India and furnished a guarantee of ₹4.5 crore to get these works released. Fund crunch was addressed with the help of sponsors like HCL Foundation. That was when the sudden downpour wreaked havoc,” Mr. Krishnamachari lamented.