First list of artists for Kochi Biennale announced

The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) has announced thefirst list of participating artists working across divergent forms, styles and disciplines for the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

The list features prominent names like Marlene Dumas (the Netherlands), Valie Export (Austria), Jitish Kallat (India), Guerrilla Girls (USA), Nilima Sheikh (India), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook (Thailand) and Song Dong (China), a KBF release said.

Curated by eminent artist Anita Dube, the fourth edition of one of the largest contemporary art biennales, known as the 'People's Biennale,' begins on December 12.

Dube, who visited a total of 29 countries as part of her research, emphasised the importance of inclusion and collaboration in her curatorial approach, with a wide range of Indian and international artists, it said.

Artists from India and of Indian origin include Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, B V Suresh, Madhvi Parekh, Sunil Gupta & Charan Singh, Vipin Dhanurdharan, Prabhakar Pachpute, Rina Banerjee, Shubigi Rao and Shilpa Gupta.

On curating an exhibition of this scale, Anita Dube said: "The need to listen, think, and learn with each other, particularly voices from the margins of women, of the queer community, the oppressed castes, the whispers and signs of nature with a spirit of freedom and comradeship is vital."