4th edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale gets a boost

Kochi Muziris Biennale: Bidders at the Saffronart gallery in Prabhadevi, Mumbai

 Exceeding the bidding estimates by a substantial margin, an untitled artwork of the iconic artist late Amrita Sher-Gil fetched the highest price of Rs 49 lakh while her self-portrait made in 1927 went for Rs 23 lakh as the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s (KBF) second fundraiser auction held in Mumbai  generated Rs 2.75 crore in support of the next year’s fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).

The first fundraiser auction, also held in Mumbai in 2015 by the KBF in collaboration with Saffronart, had raised an amount of Rs 2. 30 crore, which was used for the 3rd editon of the Biennale.

Rs 15-20 lakh was the estimated price for Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1927 famous watercolour before it went under the hammer at the Tuesday evening (Oct 31) auction that was oraginsed at Saffronart’s office in Prabhadevi locality and drew an exuberant assemblage of collectors, artists and gallerists in a display of solidarity for the biennale.

Besides live auctioning, bidding also took place online, on the phone and on the mobile app of Saffronart, the country’s leading art auction house. The proceeds will give an enhanced financial leeway to the Foundation in sustaining the Biennale through 2018 and beyond.

Subodh Gupta’s stainless steel installation, showing his highly eccentric imaginings drawn from everyday objects, went for Rs 25 lakh, exceeding its pre-sale estimate of Rs 15-20 lakh.


KBF Secretary Riyas Komu said, "With the support of artists, Saffronart and the collectors, we have triggered a good momentum for our fundraising initiatives for the 2018 edition of Biennale. Thanks to everyone who supported it, it brings together a much needed ecosystem to sustain such non-commercial projects.”

He added: “Through this auction, we have been able to generate a fair amount of money which will also be used to support art production. In a different context, it shows that there is a great amount of interest and solidarity among the artist community and also the art world to sustain the Biennale and its cultural possibilities in celebrating the diversity.”

In all, artworks of 41 modern and contemporary masters were put on the auction block and 98 per cent of it was lapped up. The list featured, among others, Sahej Rahal, Bharti Kher, Atul Dodiya, TV Santhosh, Pushpamala N., Abir Karmakar, Prajakta Potnis, Parvathi Nayar, Manjunath Kamath and Kerala artists Bhagyanath, Benitha Perciyal, P S Jalaja, KP Reji, Sosa Joseph, Vivek Vilasini and Gigi Scaria.


Francesco Clemente, an Italian contemporary artist, was the only foreigner whose work featured in the fundraiser auction list. His artwork, Ascending, was hammered down at a tidy amount of Rs 14 lakh and was among the top ten lots sold alongside works by Himmat Shah (Rs 14 lakh), B Manjunath Kamath (Rs 11 lakh), Benitha Perciyal (Rs 9.5 lakh), T V Santosh (Rs 9 lakh), Prajakta Palav Aher (Rs 7 lakh) and G R Iranna (Rs 6 lakh each).

Dinesh Vazirani, Co-founder of Saffronart, said, “We are delighted to have supported the Kochi Biennale Foundation in its fundraising efforts, and look forward to continuing our support to them in the future. The KMB has established itself as a reputed and marquee event with the previous three editions attracting artists and visitors from around the world. We were proud to raise a total of Rs 2.75 crore towards sustaining an event of its scale and kind. It was refreshing to see contemporary artists perform so well; this shows a revived strength in the market. The support shown by collectors and the art fraternity was overwhelming.”

Anita Dube, a contemporary artist, is to curate the fourth edition of the KMB, which begins in December 2018. The KMB, which made its debut in 2012, has now become a marquee exhibition in South Asia and elsewhere, catalysed the production of hundreds of artworks, and hosted over 15 lakh visitors comprising Heads of the State, art patrons and the man on the street.

‘Perspectives, ideas at Biennale can be adapted to film’: Priyadarshan

Veteran filmmaker termed his first visit to the Biennale on Saturday a ‘learning experience’

Filmmaker Priyadarshan at artist Istvan Csakany's installation 'Ghost Keeping' at KMB 2016 in Aspinwall House,Fort Kochi 

Observing that an interesting frame can be found anywhere provided one perceives it as such, celebrated filmmaker Priyadarshan said the variety of perspectives and concepts at Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016 can be adapted to film.

A favourable shooting schedule meant the director of more than 100 films across industries and languages was able to visit the Biennale for the first time on Saturday. He termed it a “learning experience that satisfied the artist in me”.

 “As a filmmaker, I think many of the ideas are adaptable in terms of medium. When I was going around and looking always at the points of view expressed by different people on similar issues, I asked myself why I didn’t think about this. This is also something we can show on screen and there were several things I thought I should try in my films,” Priyadarshan said

Filmmaker Priyadarshan with Kochi Biennale Foundation President Bose Krishnamachari at Subrat Kumar Behera's installation 'Mythological Paradigm Prophesied' at KMB 2016 in Aspinwall House,Fort Kochi 

“Expressions of creativity are like the sea or the sky: there are no limits. There are things I understood and others that I did not, but I appreciated the aesthetic sense behind the Biennale. Unlike the boring spaces in art galleries, the KMB is the venue for these expressions,” he added.

‘Artists’ Cinema a platform for serious works’: Joshy Mathew

Award-winning filmmaker Joshy Mathew also visited the Biennale recently. Besides the works on display, he appreciated the Kochi Biennale Foundation initiative to screen serious films as part of its ongoing ‘Artists’ Cinema’ series at the Pavilion in Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi.

“For filmmakers, the initiative provides a platform to promote serious Malayalam cinema in front of an international audience. Moreover, we can market our films more intensively in the international film festival circuit after being screened in such an internationally acclaimed art festival like the Biennale,” said Mathew, whose film Black Forest won a National award in 2012.

Heart-warming music by Vaikom Vijayalakshmi at General Hospital

Renowned singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (seated) performing at Government General Hospital, Ernakulam as part of Kochi Biennale Foundation's ‘Art and Medicine’  on Wednesday. Also seen on stage (right) is singer Jimmy Kalabhavan.

Visually challenged playback singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi stole many hearts with her heart-warming melodies at the 150th musical extravaganza of the weekly, ‘Arts and Medicine’ show organised by Kochi Biennale Foundation, at the General Hospital, Ernakulam on Wednesday- 28 Dec 2016.

This week, singers Kalabhavan Jimmy and Junior Mehboob also shared the stage with their renditions of numerous hit numbers adding flavor to the show. Jimmy who has over 15 years of experience at Kalabhavan, began the event with the devotional number –‘Yahoodiyayile’  before moving onto an array of 20 songs neatly stacked with melody and tempo.

Vijayalakshmi crooned the song – ‘Lokam Muzhuvan Sukam Pakaraan’, moving into the duet ‘Kaate Kaate’ and ‘Sharadaambaram’. While seated, she played the instrument, ‘ Kasu’ and mellifluously rendered the song , ‘Minungum Minnaminuge’ from the new Mohanlal starrer, ‘Oppam.’ The musical feast culminated with  the number ‘Kaikkottum Kanditilla’.  A few popular yesteryear Hindi numbers  added to musical aura.

Vijayalakshmi, an expert at  playing the rare musical instrument, Gayathriveena, gained appreciation with her first song as a playback singer.

Hailing from Vaikom, she has many awards to her credit. Vijayalakshmi bagged the State Film Award for the best singer through Kamal’s Nadan after winning a special mention from the State Film Awards jury for her rendition of the song Katte Katte from the film Celluloid.

Most recently she won the Filmfare Awards (South) for the Best Female Singer.

“I could not see the expressions on the faces of the people in the crowd, but I could definitely feel the positive vibes that  came in the form of applause”,  she said.

 ‘Arts and Medicine’ is an initiative organised every Wednesday by the Kochi Biennale Foundation in association with Mehboob Memorial Orchestra and Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre Limited. Apart from the show organised at the General Hospital Ernakulam, the Biennale hosts a musical show on every last Monday of a month at Cochin Medical College, Kalamassery.

Biennale poets discuss the barriers and bridges in language

For Raúl Zurita, the story of language is both one of magic and one of misunderstandings. The iconic Chilean poet-revolutionary believes that words can both stave off mortality and extinguish life, but is inextricably linked to suffering and death.

He was talking at a riveting conversation, titled “What Language Means to Me”, at the Biennale Pavilion in Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi, on Thursday. The dialogue, held on the sidelines of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016, heard arguments on language’s unifying and divisive qualities.

"What Language Means to Me" , a dialogue among Biennale poets and writers held at Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi. From Left to Right : Chloe Estep, Ouyang Jianghe, Anna Deeny Morales, Raúl Zurita, Aleš Šteger, Valerie Mejer Caso, Sergio Chejfec, Sharmistha Mohanty.

“We are living in a period of the agonising of language. The unequivocal language of capital as represented by marketing where not one word means what it intends. For me, language is what they are trying to remove from me in favour of the language of profit,” Zurita said.

The discussion saw participation from five other poets and writers, including Ouyang Jianghe, Sergio Chejfec, Sharmistha Mohanty, Valerie Mejer Caso and Aleš Šteger. Argentinean poet Chejfec, in particular, countered Zurita’s thoughts about the hopelessness of language.

“Language has a strange music. It is transcendental, making the immaterial material. It is a bridge between opposing views and different worlds,” said Chejfec. A point agreed on by Mohanty who noted, “Language was an inclusive, penetrating art form that captures all and leaves no fossils. She read from a poem on memory and language.

Recalling anecdotes from her first association with language as a child, Mexican writer Mejer Caso said, “Language is the ability to recreate a moment and shepherd readers or listeners to that period with as little as a word”.

Explaining the benefits of have a living vocabulary, Chinese poet Jianghe said language was both existential and functional. “It is the difference between a fish just out of water and one that has been frozen in time. Language has been infiltrated by science and it’s time we returned to the original language,” he said.

Slovenian writer Šteger equated having a language to being possessed. “It is like an external entity inhabiting our physical bodies. Language is something unknowable, mysterious yet familiar and personal,” he said.
The session was moderated by Anna Deeny Morales, who also translated for Zurita.

144th edition of 'Arts and Medicine' pays tribute to legendary musician Shri. M Balamuralikrishna

Evergreen melodies from yesteryear wafted through the General Hospital here when singers from ‘Nanmayude Thalodal’, a city-based friendship group noted for its charity activities, took to the stage for the weekly ‘Arts and Medicine’ Biennale Music show today.

Teen talent Amal Roy, who has been a semifinalist of the Malayalam television show ‘Super Star Junior’  emerged the star of the show with his delivery of songs that was appreciated by the audience - a mix of patients, bystanders and hospital staff.

“It gives me immense happiness to be a part of an initiative to provide solace to patients in distress”, said Roy who is the son of singer Jackson Roy and has won many prestigious prizes at the school level.

“Age is no barrier to be able to do something for others, I enjoy working with seniors and getting to learn a life-lesson a day…. I am successful in handling rehearsals for shows and academics in parallel”, said the enthusiastic teenage artist.

Singers of charity group 'Nanmayude Thalodal', Jabbar Uppas and Amal Roy performing at Government General Hospital, Ernakulam as part of Kochi Biennale Foundation's ‘Art and Medicine’ on Wednesday.

Roy was the youngest among today’s group of singers, which includes Jabbar Uppas who is also chairman of the friendship group and has held decorated positions as Cochin Orchestra Director, Kerala Mappila Academy-State Vice president. He is a regular presence in the groups associated with cultural, social and art fields.

Along with other artistes Jackson Roy, Kunjumon,  Anaz Mohammed and Salim, the group strung together a total of 13 songs which got the audience humming and swaying along.

Jabbar began the programme on a devotional ambience with the song ‘Satya Nayaka’, followed by ‘Neela Malareh’ and followed it up with a medley of random songs hand-picked to suit the taste of the audience. Jabbar and Amal together concluded the show with ‘Husnul Jamal’- a popular folk number.

The Nanmayude Thalodal’ group is active on social networking and messaging sites like Facebook and WhatsApp and has initiated several charity works.

Today’s performance marks the 144th edition of the ‘Arts and Medicine’ programme, which is organized by Kochi Biennale Foundation in association with Mehboob Memorial Orchestra and Lake Shore Hospital and Research Centre Limited .

Playback singer Jyothi Menon performs live for patients at General Hospital

Noted playback singer, Jyothi Menon performed live today at the General Hospital, Ernakulam here for the 143rd edition of the all Wednesday ‘Arts and Medicine’ show, which opened with a homage to senior instrumentalist Erlo D’ Cruz who passed away this morning.

 Menon’s melodious renditions of Hindi, Malayalam and Hindi songs backed by synchronised orchestra music wafted from the hospital’s sunlit lawn into its corridors.

 Starting with Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar,  a  number by iconic Indian ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, which Menon followed it up with the songs - Lokam Muzhuvan Sukham Pakaranayi, Oru Vattam Koodiyen Ormakal Meyunna and Poonthenaruvi  among others. The playback singer belted out a total of 13 songs in her hour-long show before concluding with the number Kaarmukil Varnante to huge appreciation from the audience who applauded her after every number.

Playback singer Jyothi Menon performing at Government General Hospital, Ernakulam as part of Kochi Biennale Foundation's ‘Art and Medicine’ programme .

 The weekly musical programme, organised as an initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, the Mehboob Memorial Orchestra and Lakeshore Research Centre Limited provides solace to patients by unleashing the undeniable therapeutic uses of music in medicine.

 Beginning her musical career by winning the 1997 TV Malayalam reality show, ‘Hamsadhwani’ on Doordarshan, Menon has been an all encompassing presence on various stage shows.

 Menon who has exhibited singing prowess right from her schooldays underwent training at the RLV music college Tripunithura, and has lent her voice in several Malayalam films namely, Nakshatra Kannula Rajakumaran, Priyom and Katturumbinte Kalyanam.

 “When music fills the soul, it escapes as explicit renditions to the surroundings. The same music acts as a balm and heals listeners, especially those who are in distress or traumatised by pain and agony,”  said the singer.

 She added that Biennale has taken a generous step in organising a show, which has been able to provide solace and consolation to many patients as well as bystanders.

‘Chinna Chinna Aasai’ fame Minmini treats patients to soul awakening music

Playback singer Minmini who shot to international fame with the Chinna Chinna Aasai hit number in Mani Ratnam’s film Roja, almost a quarter century ago, regaled patients with her melodious voice at the Government General Hospital, Ernakulam on 26th Oct 2016 .

The singer who has delivered evergreen hits such as 'Souparnikamritham'  from KizhakkunarumPakshi, and 'Pathiravaayi' from Vietnam Colony among others gave a captivating performance, which was part of Kochi Biennale’s weekly ‘Arts and Medicine’ show.

Her  felicitous mellow rendering of each song evoked  smiles and loud applause from a captive audience who seemed to enjoy the performance.

“I am overwhelmed to see such an audience of patients, bystanders and hospital staff…. It is  an honour to sing amidst a crowd in an open space … As a child I had immense support from my folks , they stood by me through thick and thin”,  Minmini said. “Acts of charity  like the one Biennale has resorted to is a noble gesture. Being able to bring smiles on the faces of people in pain is indeed a blessing”,  she added.

Minmini and her co-singers Junior Mehboob and Yahiya Azeez belted out close to a dozen songs which included ‘LokamMuzhuvanSukamPakaraan’, ‘Mizhiyoram’, ‘Badi Door Se Aaye Hein’, ‘ChinnaChinnaAasai’, and ‘Maanasa Mani Venuvil’ to name a few. Her husband Joy Mathew shared the stage for the Tamil number ,‘Kannekalaimane’.


Beginning her  career at the age of five with the Kalabhavan orchestra, Minmini graduated to a professional singer at 10. Her musical family background spurred her to become a singer and till date she has sung around 2,000 film songs in seven different languages - Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Oriya and Badaga.

A Malayali hailing from Aluva, most of Minmini’s memorable musical pieces are in Tamil,  composed by Ilayaraaja and A R Rahman. Her hit Malayalam songs include ‘Souparnikamritham’ from KizhakkunarumPakshi, ‘OonjalUrangi’, and ‘Neelaraavi” from Kudumbasametham. After a break from singing, Minmini made a comeback last year  with the song Kanmaniye from Mili.

She has been honoured with  many awards, including the Singapore State Government Award, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback, Filmfare Award, Cinema Express Award, Film Fans Association Award (Telugu), Kerala Film Chamber Award and SUMU Award, to name a few.



The all Wednesday series is an initiative organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation in association with Mehboob Memorial Orchestra and Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre Limited aiming to provide solace to the patients. This week’s programme marked the 140th episode.