The Kochi Biennale Foundation has welcomed Kerala government's budgetary provision of Rs seven crore for the coming third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, as also its decision to provide a permanent home to India's only Biennale.
KBF thanked Finance Minister Thomas Isaac for his commitment to the hugely popular celebration of contemporary art and culture.
The Foundation also expressed its gratitude for the efforts made by Kochi MLA K J Maxy to help promote the event.
KBF President Bose Krishnamachari noted that the budgetary allocation was a testimony to the state administration's sustained efforts to further the cause of art in Kerala.
"They reflect also the state government's belief in KBF's ability to deliver a top-class event - one that continues to have tangible social and economic benefits for both the states and the wider region. I sincerely thank the government," Krishnamachari said.
Noting that Kerala had once again shown the rest of the country the way to go about promoting and preserving art, KBF Secretary Riyas Komu said the provision of a permanent venue to the Biennale will have a tremendous impact.
"The Biennale is rooted in the traditional cosmopolitanism of Kochi, and Kerala as a whole," he said.
"The decision to provide it a permanent home indicates the importance the state government attributes to this heritage as also its belief in protecting and projecting our soft power," he added.
The first and the second editions of Kochi-Muziris Biennale received a total of Rs 12 crore.
Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016, curated by Mumbai-based artist Sudarshan Shetty, runs from December 12 this year to March 29, 2017.
