Kochi Biennale taking crowdfunding route to raise funds

India's biggest contemporary art event, the Kochi Muziris Biennale, facing a huge liqudity crunch, is taking the crowdfunding route to raise funds for the event.
The Biennale's campaign, the first-of-its-kind in India, is hosted on the crowdfunding platform Catapoolt and targets Rs 15 crore in 90 days.
Social media forums-always good at picking up the sense of urgency in matters - are already abuzz with the news. Ardent KMB supporters, Shashi Tharoor MP, and film maker Aashiq Abu, both with highly followed twitter accounts, have been quick to retweet the crowdfunding news.
The second edition of the Biennale, curated by renowned artist Jitish Kallat, will run for 108 days starting from December 12 and will feature the works of 94 artists from 30 countries.

"An event of this scale needs all the support it can get, but our campaign objective is not just to raise funds; we want to make it participatory, allow people to take ownership of it and feel proud of it," said Riyas Komu, Secretary of the KBF.
Kochi Muziris Biennale 2014 has a projected budget of Rs 26 crore and has been pledged some government support and corporate sponsorship. The crowd-funding drive, besides helping meet part of the costs, is expected to raise the profile of the Biennale worldwide.

"We request everyone to take this donation drive seriously. The Biennale makes a major cultural impact and brings valuable international focus to the region," said Komu, who co-curated the first Biennale and is an accomplished artist based in Mumbai.

The campaign on Catapoolt, which has worked on 35 crowdfunding projects in India, allows people anywhere in the world to make contributions, big or small, and offers rewards for every contribution made. The site is also accessible through KMB's official website.
Of the projected Rs 26-crore budget, a chunk would go towards shipment of artists' works from India and abroad. "While the state government, corporates, individual patrons and art lovers have responded positively, the money has been trickling in," Komu said.
Satish Kataria, managing director of Catapooolt, said he believed that community support can make events like the Biennale bigger.