Jitish Kallat to share ideas behind Kochi Biennale in US

Contemporary artist Jitish Kallat is set to share the themes and curatorial ideas behind the Kochi -Muziris Biennale to artists, curators, administrators and scholars at several prestigious art institutions in the US.
Kallat, who will leave for US this month, has been invited to deliver talks at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Asian Contemporary Art Week in New York, where he will speak on 'Whorled Explorations'.
At the Museum of Modern art in New York, he will speak to C-MAP Asia curatorial group in an internal dialogue between senior staff and curators.
Kochi will play host to the works of nearly 95 artists from about 30 countries at the second edition of the 108-day Biennale, scheduled to open on December 12.

Almost 70 per cent of the exhibits are new works created as a result of extended dialogues, in the course of which several artists have made visits to Kochi to see the sites where the exhibition will unfold, a statement said.
His talk at Philadelphia Museum of Art, a deliberation on his artistic practice as well as his maiden curatorial project, is supported by the Initiative for South Asian Contemporary Art and the Pamela and Ajay Raju Foundation.

"As an artist and curator, Jitish bears witness to the reality that contemporary art is not the sole purview of Europe and the US. He is one of India's hottest artists working today and brings us a new frame of reference to rethink our world and ourselves," said Darielle Mason, the Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art and head of the Department of South Asian Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"It is incredibly rewarding to be able to introduce to Philadelphia some of the most powerful voices in South Asia's artistic panorama. The remarkable creativity of these artists together with their unique perspective has an unprecedented impact on global artistic practice," Mason said.
At the Asian Contemporary Art Week Field Meeting, Kallat will be in a public conversation with its Director Leeza Ahmady, about the curatorial processes and themes that run through 'Whorled Explorations'.