Noted artist Vivan Sundaram entreated the Kerala government to immediately release Rs 5 crore to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale to help the international contemporary art show overcome serious financial hurdles.
"The government had told the assembly after the elections last year that an additional Rs 5 crore would be given to the biennale," the Delhi-based Sundaram told delegates at a symposium held at the Aspinwall House venue in Fort Kochi. "As we know the government never kept that promise," he said.
The Kochi Biennale Foundation had received a state aid of Rs 5 crore during the tenure of the previous LDF-led Left Front government. It found itself in a controversy earlier this month after the state government ordered a vigilance probe into the spending of funds.
A group of artists had approached the government alleging that the event had been hijacked and monopolised by a handful of artists to secure their narrow interests.
The Finance Department probe had found that the Culture Department, under the previous government, had provided Rs five crore to the biennale without insisting that the organisers follow the government norms and conditions normally attached to similar grants.
Meanwhile, Sundaram, whose installation showcasing the revival of the lost port city of Muziris said the biennale was a "remarkable achievement" and there was a need for a signature campaign to put "full pressure" on the state government for additional funds.
"The new financial support to the biennale will not only help the current edition, but will create a base for the next biennale," he added. MORE
