KBF announces co-curators for Students’ Biennale

Kochi, Oct 17 (PTI) The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) here on Friday announced the names of co-curators for Students’ Biennale, an educational initiative for budding young artists across India.

According to KBF, the programme works with state-funded art colleges across India, encouraging emerging artists and showcasing their work on an international stage.

The Students’ Biennale exhibition will open on 13 December 2025 and run alongside the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), which is scheduled from 12 December 2025 until March 31, 2026, KBF said.

The programme is led by co-curators/collectives who will mentor students from over 150 institutions across seven regions of the nation.

They engage with the students, shortlist the exhibition participants, and work closely with participating students to develop their projects for the exhibition in Kochi, KBF said.

Savyasachi Anju Prabir, and Sukanya Deb will be curators for Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa, and Rajasthan; Dr. Sudheesh Kottembram and Dr. Seethal CP for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh; Chinar Shah and Ashok Vish for Karnataka and Telangana states; and Kursheed Ahmed and Salman Basheer Baba for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh.

Gabba, an artists-led space represented by Ritushree Mondal, Himangshu Sarma, Rabiul Khan, and Surajit Mudi, will guide students from West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Anga Art Collective will lead workshops in the north-eastern states, and Secular Art Collective, represented by Salik Ansari, Bhushan Bhombale, Shamim Khan, and Shamooda Amrelia, will conduct workshops in Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh.

With emphasis on alternative education beyond the classroom and learning from practice, the event serves as a forum to foster fine arts education in the country, KBF said.

Mario D’Souza, Director of Programmes, KBF, said that each edition of the Students’ Biennale is a learning exercise. “We work with students, educators, curators, and artists to understand the needs and shortcomings of art education in India,” he said.

He said that KBF will examine what other forms of nourishing practice are possible outside of the market and grant economy. “We aspire to build a peer group and artist-to-artist network that is concerned with the ‘now’. We want to learn together - about and with each other’s contexts and challenges," he added. PTI TBA TBA ROH