Ease bureaucratic hurdles to ensure timely funding for Kochi-Muziris Biennale: Bose Krishnamachari

KOCHI

“We need to cut bureaucratic delays in the release of funds allocated by the government for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale,” said Bose Krishnamachari, president of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), in a chat with The Hindu on the sidelines of the central exhibition ‘In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire’ at Aspinwall House in Fort Kochi on Friday. Excerpts:

On the organisational challenges faced by the KBF this time.

The government had earmarked ₹7 crore in the State Budget for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. It is a significant allocation. But unfortunately, you do not get the money on time. We have now received ₹3 crore. We had requested the authorities to release an initial funding of ₹4 crore in January 2022. Everybody knows about the value of the project and are extending full cooperation. But we received the initial funding only in November. We lost more than seven months in view of bureaucratic hurdles in sanctioning assistance. The budget for this edition of the biennale is about ₹18 crore. We had reduced it from ₹22.5 crore in view of the pandemic crisis. We are also getting help from various companies and institutions as part of their corporate social responsibility funding. We have received more funding compared to the previous edition. But we are getting the assistance late. That is the problem.

How different is this edition compared to the previous fest?

This edition of the Biennale will stand out for the incredible imagination of the Singapore-based Indian-origin artist and writer Shubigi Rao, who is the curator. Her inventive sensibilities are reflected in the selection of the works on display. She did not want to expand the central exhibition to many venues and decided to keep Aspinwall House, Anand Warehouse, and Pepper House as the main venues. She wanted to concentrate all the works in this area. The response to the event at all the other venues has been tremendous. We are getting amazing feedback about the students’ biennale from art enthusiasts.

On the impact of the possible restrictions on international travel amid the renewed pandemic scare on the prospects of the Biennale.

We may face an issue in the arrival of visitors from abroad, if travel restrictions are going to get tougher in the coming days. Otherwise, many are already in Kochi to see the Biennale. There has been a spurt in hotel bookings over the last few days. More people are expected to turn up in the coming weeks. Almost all hotels in Kochi are booked to full capacity as per feedback from hoteliers. The Biennale has increased the value of tourism and hotel industry.