Students’ Biennale arts fest starts in Kochi

Kochi, Dec 14 (PTI) The Students’ Biennale, part of the contemporary art festival Kochi-Muziris Biennale, opened at the VKL Warehouse in Mattancherry here, the organisers said on Sunday.

In a statement, the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) said the Students’ Biennale, which began on Saturday, provides young artists from across India a platform to showcase their creativity and engage with contemporary art practices.

“Conceived as an educational initiative of the KBF, the exhibition brings together works by students from state-funded art institutions, enabling them to present their ideas beyond the classroom and engage in dialogue with a wider artistic community,” the statement said.

According to the organisers, the Students’ Biennale is being held across five venues—VKL Warehouse, Arthshila Kochi, BMS Warehouse, St Andrew’s Parish Hall, and Space Gallery—and features artistic expressions by student-artists from institutions across the country.

The sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, titled For the Time Being, officially opened on December 12 and will run until March 31, 2026, across 22 venues in Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Ernakulam and Willingdon Island.

The edition showcases projects by 66 artists and collectives from more than 25 countries, reflecting a wide spectrum of contemporary artistic practices.

Inaugurating the Students’ Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale President Bose Krishnamachari expressed confidence in the next generation of artists.

He recalled the origins of the educational programme, launched in 2014 to provide students access to global art practices—an opportunity he said was largely unavailable during his own student days.

“When I was a student, I never had the opportunity to witness international art practices. We are now at our sixth edition, and it is growing,” Krishnamachari said.

The Students’ Biennale is organised through a network of co-curators and artist collectives who mentor students from seven regions across India, the KBF added. PTI TBA SSK