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 , 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 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 , 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 , Germany

Renate Wagner, General Manager, Berlin Biennale, Germany

Joseph Backstein, Director , 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 , 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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