Amsterdam, January 15, 2013. Shri. K.C. Joseph Minister for Culture Government of Kerala Room No: 358 B, 1st Floor - Main Block Secretariat Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, India
Dear Mr. Joseph,
As international colleagues we would herewith like to express our support and sympathy for the Kochi Muziris Biennale, India’s first biennale of contemporary art, initiated by Riyas Komu and Bose Krishnamachari. The Kochi Muziris Biennale in Kochi is internationally welcomed as a valuable new arts initiative in India, and its first edition already regarded a success.
A biennial traditionally is the result of a collective effort and concentrated investment poured into a single outcome, and it often emerges from (and is a response to) a context where there is a lack of mature contemporary art institutions to run high-quality programs year-round.
Indeed, some of the most relevant biennials today take place in emerging scenes such as Dakar, Havana, Istanbul, Gwangju, Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Taipei, or Sharjah, where there is a burgeoning circuit of artists, a significant audience, and a lack of infrastructure for contemporary art.
The truly relevant biennial today is a phenomenon of the global South, relying on independence, creativity, and ingenuity from its organizers, and drawing crucial connections between different locales and productions. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is wonderfully fitting in this picture.
As colleagues and colleague institutions internationally, who all recently convened at World Biennial Forum No1 in Gwangju in South - Korea, we would herewith like to ask you to continue to support the Kochi- Muziris Biennale.
Yours Sincerely,
Marieke van Hal Director Biennial Foundation www.biennialfoundation.org www.worldbiennialforum.org See next pages:
Supported by:
Ute Meta Bauer, Dean of Fine Arts, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Hou Hanru, Independent Curator, USA/France/China
Yongwoo Lee, President Gwangju Biennale Foundation, South –Korea.
Elke aus dem Moore, Head of Visual Arts, Ifa- Institute für Auslandsbeziehungen, Germany
Sabina Santarossa, Director Asef - Asia-Europe Foundation, Singapore
Alisa Prudnikova, Artistic Director Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Russia
Alia Swastika, Curator Jogja Biennale, Indonesia
Bige Örer, Director Istanbul Biennale, Turkey
Dolgor Ser-Od & Marc Schmitz, Co-directors Land Art Mongolia LAM 360˚, Mongolia
Caroline Turner, Founding Director APT- Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Australia
Evelyne Jouanno, Director Emergency Biennale, Chechnya /France
Fang-Wei Chang, Director Taipei Biennial at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
Eriko Osaka, Director Yokohama Art Museum and Yokohama Triennial, Japan
Sheikha Hoor Al-Qasimi, Director Sharjah Art Foundation Biennial, United Arab Emirates
Jonathan Watkins, Director Ikon Gallery United Kingdom
Ritsuko Taho, Director Kobe Biennale, Japan
Ou Ning, Curator Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, China
Wang Huang Sheng, Director CAFA Art Museum, Beijing and former Director of Gangzhou Triennial, China
Wato Tsereteli, Director Tbilisi Triennial, Georgia
2 Tarek Abou El Fetouh, Director Meeting Points, Arab World
Zhang Qing, Head Curatorial and Research Department of the National Art Museum of China, Beijing, and Former Director Shanghai Biennale, China
Ursula Zeller, Director Zeppelin Museum and Triennale Oberschwaben, Germany
Marie Le Sourd, Secretary General ‘On the Move’, Brussels
Kim Hong-Hee, Director Seoul Museum of Art, South – Korea
Hyungmin Pai, Curator Gwangju Design Biennale, South- Korea
Beck Jee-sook, Artistic Director Anyang Public Art Project (APAP), South –Korea
Jinsang Yoo, Artistic Director Seoul Mediacity, South - Korea
Zheng Yan, Deputy Director Today Art Museum, Beijing
Shahidul Alam, Arist, Director Chobi Mela, Bangladesh
Basak Senova, Independent Curator, Turkey
Lian Ladia, Independent Curator, Philippines
Mauro Petroni, Curator, Biennale of Dak’Art, Senegal
Alya Sebti, Artistic Director Marrakech Biennale, Morocco
Quynh-Anh Tran, Curator, Saigon Open City, Vietnam
Raphael Chikukwa, Curator National Gallery Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
Andrea Cancellato, Director Milan Triennale, Italy
Dag Aak Sveinar, Director Nordic Biennale Momentum, Norway
Ekaterina Degot, Curator Bergen Assembly, Norway
Bernardo de Souza, Curator Mercosul Biennale, Brazil
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Evelyn Holm, Director Bergen Assembly, Norway
Gabriele Horn, Director Berlin Biennale, Germany
Renate Wagner, General Manager, Berlin Biennale, Germany
Joseph Backstein, Director Moscow Biennale, Russia
Lewis Biggs, Curator Folkestone Triennale and Aich Triennale, United Kingdom/Japan
Margarita González, Deputy Director Havana Biennale, Cuba
Nevenka Šivavec, Director Ljubljana Graphic Biennale, Slovenia
Sally Tallant, Director Liverpool Biennale, United Kingdom
Shihoko Iida, Curator Aich Triennale, Japan
Alnoor Mitha, Director Asia Triennial Manchester, United Kingdom
Suzana Sousa, Curator Luanda Triennale, Angola
Helena Kontova, Co-Director Prague Biennale, Chech Republic
Susanne Boecker, Art Critic, Kunstforum, Germany
Rafal Niemojewski, Dean of Curatorial Department, Chelsea University of the Arts in London, United Kingdom
Adrian Notz, Director Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, Switzerland
Veeranganakumari Solanki, Independent Curator, India
Daniel Rangel, Artistic Director ICC, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Shengtian Zheng, Managing Director Yihshu Journal, China
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