KOCHI:
This Sunday, 29 July, will see the return of celebrated artist Jitish Kallat to Kochi. Kallat was the curator of Whorled Explorations, the second edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale held in 2014. This year, however, he takes on a very different role: participating artist, one in the wide-ranging list of names announced by the Kochi Biennale Foundation in June.
The Mumbai-based artist’s work has been shown both nationally and internationally, with solo exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago (2010), Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney (2015), and National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi last year, amongst many others. Kallat has also exhibited at a number of biennials including those in Havana, Gwangju, and Kiev.
As part of his visit to Kochi, a preparatory trip before the opening of the Biennale in December, Kallat will speak to a public audience at Fort Kochi’s Pepper House about his recent and upcoming work. The event is part of Kochi Biennale Foundation’s ‘Let’s Talk’ programme, a series that encourages open dialogue by inviting prominent artists and thinkers to discuss an aspect of their creative work.
Riyas Komu, Secretary and Director of Programmes at Kochi Biennale Foundation, said that an open event like this is vital in the promotion of contemporary art and discourse in Kochi, and India as a whole. “We are excited to have our friend Jitish Kallat back as a participating artist for the upcoming edition of the Biennale. The potential of sustained and growing connections are an example of how important it is for the Foundation to centre art-makers,” he added.
Let’s Talk with Jitish Kallat will be held at Pepper House, Fort Kochi, on Sunday, 29 July at 5 PM. The fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale, curated by Anita Dube, will run from 12 December, 2018 through 29 March, 2019.
