Kochi Art, Culture, Literature, Kochi-Muziris Biennale

[Malayaali]

Kochi to honour literary legend

Writer M.K Sanoo, who won the Kendra Sahithya Academy Award for best biography

The city is honouring one of its most illustrious sons. In a way, it is the most natural thing to do, as there will be at least one students of M.K. Sanoo in every crowd that gathers in the city.

As a tribute, students and friends of Sanoo Master, as he is affectionately called, have formed a cultural collective called M.K. Sanoo Foundation. A meeting of the founder members of this group was held at Chavara Cultural Centre and it elected literary critic M. Thomas Mathew as chairman, Sarah Joseph and K. Balachandran as vice-chairpersons; John Paul as general secretary; Father Roby Kannanchira and P.S. Haneef as secretaries; and P.J. Cheriyan as treasurer.

Father Paul Thalekkat, Sheeba Ameer, K.M. Roy, K.G. Poulose, T.M. Abraham, T. Kaladharan, George Mathew and Emson Moorkancheril were elected as members.

As a first step, the foundation will publish two books. The first one will be titled ‘Ente Bhasha; Ente Madhyamam' (My Language; My Medium) and bring together leading personalities in social and cultural realms.

The second book will be titled ‘Nammude Sanoo Mash' and will be a collection of articles by persons from different walks of life about their association with the teacher.

After this, the foundation will take up the publication of ‘Paschatya Sahitya Darsanam' (Western Literary Philosophy), which Prof. Sanoo had started writing decades ago.

The foundation will also take the initiative to organise M.K. Sanoo Endowment Lecture series featuring national and international scholars, starting with October 27 when Prof. Sanoo will turn 84. Lectures will be held annually under this series.

An award, named ‘Guruprasada Puraskaram' will be given to three persons selected for their professional excellence.

Besides all these, the foundation will organise workshops on translation and oratory. Those interested in associating with the foundation can get in touch with M.K. Sanoo Foundation, Chavara Cultural Centre, Karikkamuri, Kochi 682 011 at 4070250 or 98460 32922 or sanufoundation@gmail.com, said Prof. Mathew.

Meanwhile, the Changampuzha Cultural Centre, Smrutidhara, Artist P.J. Cherian Foundation, Chavara Cultural Centre and Orthic Creative Centre will jointly organise a cultural event to honour Prof. Sanoo.

[vjkrishn]

Graceful feats of artistry



Gopika Varma's Mohiniyattam performance at the Fifth National Sreesankara Dance and Music Festival, Kalady.



Priyadarshini Govind performing Bharatanatyam at the Fifth National Sreesankara Dance and Music Festival, Kalady.

The Fifth National Sreesankara Dance and Music Festival featured danseuses Manju Barggavee, Gopika Varma and Priyadarshini Govind who enchanted the audience with their grace and skill.

As part of the Fifth National Sreesankara Dance and Music Festival, illustrious artistes such as Manju Barggavee, Gopika Varma and Priyadarshini Govind along with numerous youngsters participated in a fete at Kalady, the birth place of Adi Sankaracharya.

The five-day programme began with a novel presentation of ‘Srikrishnacharitam' – a natyabhashyam by senior danseuses of the Sree Sankara School of Dance, Kalady. The composition and choreography of the mega show were by C.P.Unnikrishnan.

On the second day of the fete, Manju Barggavee, actor and danseuse, danced her way into the hearts of rasikas, right from her first presentation of a koutvam. ‘Jaganandakaraka' (in Natta, Roopaka tala), a composition by Tyagaraja, saw her performing hasta and padavinyasams with amazing finesse. The much-sought-after ‘Narayanatheertha Tarangam' followed.

[vjkrishn]

United expressions in creativity



AT THE ATELIER Artists work on their paintings at ’Expressions 2012,’ an art camp at Hotel Le Meridien Photo:

Expressions 2012', an art camp on at Le Meridien, offers great scope for an artistic exchange of ideas

Away from the solitude of a studio an artist camp offers varied, on-the-spot inspirations. That's what happened to Dhara Mehrotra, a Delhi based artist, one of the 12 participating in the ongoing camp, ‘Expressions 2012', at Hotel Le Meridien.

A serrated fern in the green precincts of the hotel is her subject. Besides that the “progressive, contemporary” style of architecture and decor of the hotel too is a big source of ideas. Impressed by that and in sync with the ambience she carries forward the feel of the venue on to her canvas.

She is consumed by the scenic beauty of Kerala too. “It truly is God's Own Country,” she gushes. Being part of the collaborative camp where she can exchange ideas and learn, unlearn and evolve is her reason for being a part of this.

The camp is being held under the aegis of Palette People and Hotel Le Meridien.

Inspired work

Falguni Bhatt from Kolkata is consumed by spaces and architecture. The heritage sites of old Cochin and the view from her hotel window at Le Meridien have inspired her to blend the two in spatial variations. Her two works, one in progress, catches beautifully her aesthetically fired mind. She uses print and paint on her canvas. The print on her kurta, her hotel chair, a Baroda palace mirror, a window, Jew Street warrens all flow beautifully in her work.

Bangalore-based Prathapan tackles the dual theme of migration and water in his work. He paints the boats called ‘parush', used by Oriya and Bengali boat people. They live and die by the boat and belong to no state. The round boats drying in the sun, against coconut trees, is an appealing geometric work in circles and lines.

Wilfred K.P. paints different scenes from nature, something that inspires continually. Bindhi Rajgopal's two works deal with rabid urbanisation that's consuming nature and hence drawing its wrath with calamities like tsunamis. Besides the 2012 apocalyptic fear rules because of this insensitive treatment towards nature.

Devadas K. A. from Ernakulam uses folk, surrealism, love, nature and divinity in his work, called ‘Living Souls'.

Many themes

Tribal themes inspire K.G. Babu from Thrissur. He says that tribes live in harmony with nature. “They don't destroy anything unlike modern man who mauls nature seamlessly, even love! Bleeding papayas in a work by Anil P.G. is a strong comment on the import of fruits to the extent that one does not eat locally grown fruits. In another work titled ‘Pets' he is inspired by the beauty of a woman. Francis Xavier who worked for a month in Wayanad before coming to the camp carries the inspirations form the hilly regions. A medicinal plant “chulli” is painted in an embossed texture and in beautiful brown, tan shades. Kajal Charankatt speaks with the maturity of an artist much ahead of her young years. She draws on a piece of paper and explains the concept of earth, “samsar” or world and spirituality in three layers. Of how the lotus rises from the mud, through the waters of the world and blooms above the filth. The world is totally materialistic and the artist should rise above that she says. Her canvas is in eye-catching shades of green. “Those white flowers will bloom into lotuses,” she says about her work in progress. Kajal walks to the end of the open verandah where the camp is being held, looks far into the spaces beyond, takes in a deep breath and returns to her work. Most artists take these leisure breaks, recharge themselves with the surrounding beauty and get back to work. A first time entrant to the art world, Mahesh Arvind, revenue analyst with the hotel too is a part of this wonderful exchange. He joined in after coming trumps in a competition held by the hotel for such a selection.

Cyril P. Jacob, curator, Art Corridor, says that this joint initiative gives a big impetus to the artists. The daily progress of their works is relayed to the 300 properties of the hotel. He plans an Investor's dinner by the end of next month, where art as an investment will be the subject, he says. Cyril, who has been keenly following the course of artists, and has been a member of Lalithakala Akademi twice says that there is a need for wider support and exposure of art.

‘Expressions 2012' goes a long way towards making that effort. The camp concludes in January 14.

[mohammedirshad06]

The first official video release of Kochi Muziris Biennial Released. The video describes the massive changes made to Kochi's Historical Durbar Hall, renovated now an Art Gallery of International Standards.

[Malayaali]

Seems like a reply to all the allegations, but Rs 3.5 crore is not a small amount either!

[mohammedirshad06]

Originally Posted by Malayaali

Seems like a reply to all the allegations, but Rs 3.5 crore is not a small amount either!

Well, it seems, only those in Muziris Biennial foundation is corrupt, rest all Parushuthapunyalans.....

The issue is a mere unnessecary controvesry, raised by those dissatisfied artists, who couldn't put their hands inside Chakkara Bharani.... And politicians took it over, as they found a stick to beat others....

Keeping controversies aside, we must remember, this equivalent to an Olympics in Art and surely will raise the bar of our creative offerings and promote Kochi as hub of Artistic creativity.... Its those morons, who want no development and nuture their personal egos, raking up these controversies.

A series of 2 or 3 successful Biennials, we can even think of setting up a Louvre kind museum in Muziris to showcase our country's 6000 years old artistic heritage....

[Malayaali]

A different Krishna

Kochi is eagerly waiting for actor and danseuse Shobana’s performance on Krishna in Kochi and the artiste herself is just as excited.

“Bharatanatyam is always about God, but being a performer, it is storytelling that is more important than the religious aspect. Krishna is an international icon. I took him because there were a lot of questions about him in my mind. These questions formed over the years while listening to bhajans, Geetha Govindam or katha-prasangams. There is the butter-and-clothes stealing Krishna and then there is the sensual aspect. It is a challenge for any artiste to show some other aspect. So this performance is the product of my trying to write a story with different aspects in mind,” she says.

One of the aspects she tries to throw light on is that of Krishna as a negotiator. “Most people comment on how beautiful it is and how colourful the costumes are. But I don’t know how far people understand the nuances. For instance, I have touched upon how Krishna is a lover of peace throughout Mahabharata. When he comes to negotiate with the Kauravas, people expect him to come with his entire army and other regalia. But he arrives without any of that, accompanied only by Garuda.”

Is her style puritan or experimental? “Innovation is tomorrow’s tradition. It is no longer in fashion to be traditional. Tradition is what your teachers taught you. If you ask about this particular performance, it is not a classical dance but can be called a classic,” she says. On rumours of her not acting in Malayalam films she says, “When did I say I will not act in Malayalam films?”

This must be music to the ears of filmmakers as well as film lovers in Kerala who have missed her since the early 90s when she started concentrating on dance, accepting only one film per year or none at all.

“But the TV channels have been playing my films all the time,” she says with a laugh. Her favourites? “Yathra, Thenmavin Kombathu and that Jayaram film…” Is Manichithrathazhu, in which she played a schizophrenic caught between the past and present and won the national award, not on the list? “Unlike dance, films are collaborative efforts. I was young while Pachikka (director Fazil) and others perhaps knew they were making a classic. Mohan Lal and Suresh Gopi supported me well.”

The actress who has her roots in Thiruvananthapuram dispels the impression that she is in some kind of self-imposed exile in Chennai. “You make it sound as though I am living in America. I come to Kerala four times a year for my performances. My relatives keep visiting me and I visit them too. I have Malayalis among the staff here (in her dance school) and I remain a Malayali in mind and spirit,” says the artiste who recently completed working on a Tamil film, Poda Podi, where she plays, what else, a dancer.

[Malayaali]

Museum of Kerala History



Source: Manorama

[mohammedirshad06]

When did I say I will not act in Malayalam?” asks Shobana, days before she is to perform her two-and-a-half hour performance on Krishna at JTPac in Kochi.

That must be music to the ears of filmmakers as well as film lovers in Kerala who have been missing her since the early 90s when she started concentrating on dance, accepting only one film per year or none at all.

“But the TV channels have been playing my films all the time,” she says, with a laugh.

Her favourites? “Yathra, Thenmavin Kombathu and that Jayaram film…” Is I>Manichithrathazhu, in which she played a schizophrenic caught between the past and present and won the national award, not in the list?

“Unlike dance, films are a collaborative effort. I was young while Pachikka (director Fazil) and others perhaps knew they were making a classic. Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi supported me well.”

The actress, who has her roots in Thiruvananthapuram dispels the impression that she is in some kind of a self-imposed exile in Chennai.

“You make it sound as though I am living in America. I come to Kerala four times a year for my performances. My relatives keep visiting me and I visit them too. I have Malayalis among the staff here (in her dance school) and I remain a Malayali in mind and spirit.”

She recently completed her work in a Tamil film Poda Podi where she plays, what else, a dancer.

She is excited as she talks about the forthcoming show in Kochi.

“Bharatanatyam is always about God but being a performer, it is story telling that is more important than the religious aspect. Krishna is an international icon. I took him because there were a lot of questions about him in my mind. These questions formed over the years while listening to the bhajans, Geetha Govindam or kathaprasangams. There is the butter and clothes stealing Krishna and then there is the sensual aspect. So, this performance is the product of my attempt to write a story with different aspects in mind.”

One of the aspects she tries to throw light on is that of Krishna as a negotiator. “Most people comment on how beautiful it is and how colourful the costumes are. But I don’t know how far people understand the nuances.

For instance, I have touched upon how Krishna is a lover of peace throughout Mahabharata. When he comes to negotiate with the Kauravas, people expect him to come with his entire army and other regalia. But he arrives without any of that, accompanied only by Garuda.

” The sound design of the show is by Resul Pookutty while the voice overs for the characters are by Surya, Shabana Azmi, Prabhu, Radhika, Konkona Sen and Nandita Das. Is her style puritan or experimental? “Innovation is tomorrow’s tradition.

It is no longer in fashion to be traditional. Tradition is what your teachers taught you. If you ask about this particular performance, it is not a classical dance but can be called a classic,” she signs off.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tablo...ys-shobana-778

[vjkrishn]

Kochi’s Newest Art Exhibition at Mattanchery

Kochi has always welcomed artists with open-arms. Show us your beautiful creations, and we cheer out loud for you! This time, we have three women who have joined hands to bring forth a wonderful painting exhibition. The art exhibition that is happening at Halagua Art Gallery at Mattanchery showcases beautiful paintings of oil, mural and Tanjore! The art gallery is located at Jew Street, Mattanchery. Paintings of Lathika Vijayaraghavan, Nalini Rajappan, and Aparna Vivek are the talk of the town.

Aparna’s paintings are mostly with oil. She has made sure that the paintings are a class apart. Aparna’s paintings on Sri Budha have already caught attention amongst the visitors who throng the art gallery to check out the paintings. Even though the majority of paintings are done by Nalini Rajappan, you wouldn’t miss the art-works of the other two ladies. Nalini Rajappan, who did her studies from the Indian School of Art, has done Tanjore and Mural paintings.

Paintings of Lathika Vijayaraghavan do not fail to entertain you! Rajasthani women clad in their colorful apparels make a chunk of Lathika’s paintings. Lathika pursued her studies in paintings from Ernakulam Vimalalayam.

The exhibition will be on till the 23rd of January 2012.

[vjkrishn]

The great Indian crafts bazaar


Mala Dhawan, founding trustee of A Hundred Hands

A Hundred Hands' is a collective which swears by everything hand-made. It's coming to David Hall with products made lovingly with the hands

If you are happy and you know and you really want to show, clap your hands (clap, clap), so goes a ditty. Well, sound a big clap for handmade products in this day and age of machines. ‘A Hundred Hands', a non- profit Bangalore based initiative is bringing ‘The Handmade Collective', to the city for the first time.

It will be held at David Hall from January 26 – 29, when a host of artisans from across the country will converge with their wares and also give live demonstration of the process behind the products.

Mala Dhawan, one of the founding trustees of ‘A Hundred Hands' is excited at bringing the bazaar to Kochi and hopes to involve local artisans in the coming years. She recounts how this venture began informally, in her small garden in Bangalore. She was a trustee with a farmer's collective and found them struggling to come to the city. “I thought of a bazaar in my garden.” The next year , a group from Kumaon, an initiative from Kundhapur and various artistes and farmers began approaching them.

Mala and her sister, Sonia continued to give the artistes a platform to showcase their wares and retail. They officially set up, ‘A Hundred Hands' in 2010.

Under that they have so far held two bazaars which have drawn crowds and appreciation. Their only criterion is that the product should be handmade.

“We encourage artistes to give it a contemporary edge,” says Mala who is an MBA and has worked in an ad company. Her marketing background helps as she negotiates with corporates on behalf of the artisans.

New look, age old style

‘A Hundred Hands' has 40 members right from the individual artistes to NGOs, who come from remote places in the hills to coastal villages, from States like MP, and Rajasthan. There are many urban artistes too.

There is a surfeit of Indian art and craft to the point that customers don't value the products and the work behind them, says Mala. “We help artistes impart a new look to the age old styles and give it a contemporary feel and effect. We sensitise the customers towards the creativity of the artistes.”

‘A Hundred Hands' is bringing Granny Gregs, a brand begun by Mala and her sister, where they have revived their grandmother's beeswax recipe. Using the formula they are making insect repellent, lip balms and customers can participate in the ‘Make your own balm' programme.

Artiste Varsha Rani of Prachi Silks is bringing Ahimsa and eri silk, a coarse product where the silk worm is not killed in the process. Kumbaya, an offshoot of a water conservation project, brings in trendy patchwork products in the form of bags, bedcovers etc. The livelihood project of Belaku Trust that makes handmade paper, do block printing and trendy embroideries will have their products on offer.

Kalam Carpets, a group of 120 weavers from Mirzapur will showcase their cotton and woollen rugs. Asad Hajeebhoy of Glasscrafters, a Bangalore based outfit that makes products from small recycled glass to Tiffany lamps is part of the collective. Samoolam , a livelihood project from Bihar will showcase crochet jewellery, “which is fun wear”, says Mala.

Gond artist Venkat Shyam will display his skills and Alessandra an Italian, is bringing in a range of kadhi and malke fabrics. Besides these there will be Hasechitra, tribal art of Karnataka and traditional paper cutting or Sanjhi art on display.

‘A Hundred Hands' also has a programme where crafters work with patients of the psychiatric department at NIMHANS helping inmates make “bum bags,” from old jeans in a buy-back arrangement. One of their members is an 80-year old whose finger puppets are moving off the shelves, giving her immense joy. “There is definitely a resurgence of people working with their hands,” says Mala who stresses that the whole idea behind the efforts is to bring back the whole concept of handmade, “bringing back a slow, simple and sensitive way of life.” And that of course deserves a big clap with our hands.

[vjkrishn]

Sensual interpretations


A painting from Jayakumar Karunakaran's exhibition 'Erotic Nature'

The searing red of a nutmeg and a pointed leaf placed strategically symbolise the sheer beauty of sensual pleasure. The deep tones of green and black have been employed to create the intensity of the feeling, says artist Jayakumar Karunakaran, whose exhibition ‘Erotic Nature' is on at the Kerala Art Gallery.

In an entirely different take on eroticism and nature, Jayakumar tries to draw parallels between the two, using the everyday elements of nature to explore the complex realms of sexuality. ‘Nirvana', acrylic on canvas, is a powerful interpretation of carnal union. A coffee seed and a clove painted in fiery shades of red, orange and burnt brown. “The warmth and intimacy can be brought out only through a colour such as red. Brown, too, helps reinforce the sexual overtones,” he says.

The creative director of an advertising firm in Kochi, Jayakumar does not have much time to indulge in his artistic pursuits. However, it is also difficult as an artist to resist the perpetual desire to create something new. His hometown, Eroor in Tripunithura, has played a significant role in shaping his creative preferences, he says. Curated by his colleague and friend Joselin John, the ‘Erotic Nature' series contains his most recent works.

Nature is undoubtedly the muse, presenting itself in varying forms and ways. A tree in full bloom, for him, resembles a woman in her prime. ‘Ecstasy rooted in nature' is a vivid expression of this thought. The iridescent leaves of the tree painted against a golden yellow portray the youthful energy of the woman and the beauty of her physical self. He is “moved by nature” which constantly changes, giving something new each day.

The exhibition has seven of Jayakumar's works, of which only three are in the ‘Erotic Nature' series. Other works displayed include acrylic and watercolour. In ‘Gushing with Life', he depicts a bleeding watermelon, in a melange of red, yellow, green and orange. Another imposing work is ‘Thought bubbles in a feeling universe', an interesting pattern of concentric circles in fluorescent and bottle green. ‘Bahrain Dhow' is a seemingly simple work in watercolour depicting a boat in the high seas, its sails caught in the wind. The bluish-grey tones of the waves and the clouds merge.

The show is on till January 31.

[Malayaali]

[vjkrishn]

The street of life


WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS Santosh Rajendran

Santosh Rajendran raises the genre of street photography by capturing the ignored life on the streets in his ongoing show at Durbar Hall Art Gallery

It is a candid moment. A child's hand stretched out seeking alms. Her unwashed-for-days-hand seems to desperately seek sustenance from the camera, her eyes are a mix of curiosity and expectation. “It is not a pose,” says Santosh Rajendran who captured the moment. This photograph is a part of his exhibition of photographs ‘Let us all…' is on at Durbar Hall Art Gallery.

Street photography is a genre of photography which is spur of the moment, seeing a dramatic moment on the street and then freezing it. It is not about creating that perfect photograph rather it is about being able to recognize the decisive moment and then capturing it. Neither is it about fancy equipment, he used a basic Canon EOS 550 D camera. “For me photography is more a medium of creating awareness and communicating than just beautiful pictures,” says Santosh. Though most of the photographs on show are black and white, there are a few ‘beautiful' colour ones as well. He says a percentage of what he makes goes to charity. His visiting card says ‘Streetalight', which “is lighting up the street, positively to make a difference.”

The exhibition concludes on January 29.

[vjkrishn]

A library's growth on reel




A documentary on the Ernakulam Public Library will be released on Sunday

A public library is one of the most enduring memorials in a community. And the 142-year-old Ernakulam Public Library is no different. Interestingly, the library functions as the foundation of the society's educational and cultural growth.

A 30-minute documentary on the Ernakulam Public Library, ‘Vayanayude Kaiyoppu,' the first on this institution, made by the students of Bhavan's Institute of Media Studies, Ernakulam, traces the origin, rich history and also takes a peek at the future plans of the library.

The English understood the importance of educating the ‘natives' and they started an elementary school. And close to this school they also set up a library. Libraries are not made but they grow. Gradually, the Ernakulam Public Library began to grow and books jostled for space inside this small building. Records available in the library reveal that the then Diwan called a meeting where a decision was taken to expand the library. The then head of education, A. F. Sealy was the first president.

Through reminiscences from senior members like Justice K. Sukumaran and novelist K. L. Mohana Varma, the documentary gives glimpses of the history, growth and milestones of the library. And simultaneously the film delineates the history and development of Kochi.

The library boasts of nearly two lakh books that includes books published decades ago and the latest releases. They have been arranged, subject-wise, in a built-up space of 7,000 sq.ft. spread over two floors. Books published in English, Malayalam, Tamil, Konkani, and Sanskrit are now available. The library has about 10,000 members from all walks of life.

The present secretary of the library, Ashok M. Cherian, reveals in the documentary the new projects and future plans. Formation of reading clubs with the assistance of residents' associations and delivery of books at home is one of the new initiatives.

Plans are afoot to modernise the library. This includes a full-fledged building complex on the 45 cents of the land owned by the library. Building an open-air stage is also on the anvil. The documentary is scripted by Ravi Kuttikad, edited and directed by N. B. Raghunath, music by Rajesh Cherthala and commentary by Ajini P. Koshy.

The documentary will be released at a function to be held at the library on January 29 at 5 p.m.

[Malayaali]

Art goes places: Metros to Tier-II

When the fourth edition of the India Art Fair comes to an end on Sunday evening in Delhi, some new records would have been set, some broken, some overachieved and some not met at all. And then, the art world would plunge itself into a pool of analysis, debating what sold, what didn't, for how much and the future, of course. However, chances are that the buyers, most of whom prefer to remain anonymous, would be from the same band of approximately 200 individuals, corporate and institutions who patronize India's emerging art market.

That's a ridiculously small number for any market if it has to continue to grow at a good pace. And in a way, it also rings hollow the drone that surrounds the Indian art market. Experts have for long insisted on a broader base for the market, beyond the limited number of collectors present, mostly in Delhi and Mumbai. While that big change, absolutely necessary to take the fortunes of the Indian art to the next level, may still be a few years away, a small beginning has been made. This year's fair saw a new phenomenon: the rise of art galleries and buyers from Tier-II cities.

If you had not been taken in by the big-ticket signatures of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Damien Hirst or our very own M F Husain, S H Raza, Subodh Gupta and Pakistan's Rashid Rana, you couldn't have missed the presence of Tier-II India at this haute affair.

This year, galleries from new art centres - Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kochi and Jaipur - are competing for space with the biggies, not just from India but also from the world art capitals like London, Paris and New York. Quite a few of them such as Archer Art Gallery from Ahmedabad and Gallery OED (Open Eyed Dreams) from Kochi are on their repeat outing to the fair, while others like Kalakriti and Shrishti art galleries from Hyderabad are here for the first time.

"Newer and younger collectors, especially those buying art for the first time, don't hit straight for the top artists like Husain or Raza because of the prohibitive prices. They want to begin at lower price points and that's where galleries like mine come in to help initiate them into the world of buying art," says Manan Relia of the Archer Art Gallery. He adds that this group of new buyers is evenly spread across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad and other Tier-II cities. He hopes that this new group would eventually graduate to buying topnotch art. "I get many queries for serigraphs that I sell from Pune," he adds.

Hyderabad is another city where the number of rich with disposable income has grown substantially in the past couple of decades, and the new rich of the city are turning to art in a big way. They too want good and expensive paintings on their walls. Remani Nambiar, whose Hyderabad gallery Shrishti has turned 10 this year, says that though she has clients in Delhi, Mumbai and overseas, locals too are emerging as buyers. "Many people in Hyderabad are setting up new homes and come to us to fill their blank walls," says Nambiar.

For Dilip Narayanan of OED Gallery, Kochi, there is a lot to look forward to in the emerging markets of south India. "Besides overseas buyers, I cater to a big demand from corporates in Kochi. We sell well in Chennai too. Rimzon is popular with buyers in Thiruvananthapuram while Rajan Krishnan is sought after in Kochi," says Narayanan.

Participation at the art fair also helps galleries from Tier-II India get suitable exposure to the business of art by learning from the experiences of the big guys even as they remain rooted in their respective cities. And if the Indian art market does expand in the years to come, these galleries would stand to benefit as they are already ahead of the curve.

[Malayaali]

India’s first art biennale in Kochi on 12/12/12

The Indian art scene has taken yet another global leap with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale - the country's first official art biennale - to begin Dec 12 this year.

The prophetic date (12.12.12), throwing doomsday predictions to the wind, was announced by the Kochi Biennale Foundation - a private non-profit organisation - here late Saturday. The art gala will continue for three months.

"The biennale is likely to host 80 artists with nearly 50 percent foreign artists, site-specific works and a sustained education programme in the three months," said Michelangelo Bendandi, director of the communications of the biennale.

"It will be spread across Fort Kochi and Kochi town," he added.

The biennale, styled on the Venice biennale, will reclaim several old Jewish, pre-colonial, colonial and native warehouses in the old Fort Kochi area lying in disuse to turn them into modern gallery spaces for display.

It will combine regeneration of old heritage for sustainbale use with art, the organisers said.

The warehouse was used by ancient Jewish traders and native merchants in Kochi and the historical port city of Muziris (modern day Kodangallur) as spice warehouses.

"The Kochi Biennale Foundation has renovated the 150-year-old Kochi Durbar Hall to a state-of-the art climate controlled international-level gallery with sophisticated lighting," said Shwetal A. Patel, executive officer of the Kochi Biennale.

"In April, the Durbar Hall will host German modern artist Eberhard Havekost's exhibition 'Sightseeing Trip' in collaboration with Dresden State Art Collections. The exhibition will be a test for the gallery space," she added.

The biennale is in talks with international and Indian artists including Subodh Gupta, Kiran Subbaiah, Ranbir Kalekar, Shreyas Kale, Rohini Devasher, Surendran Nair, Pakistan's Bani Abidi, Indonesia's Fiona Tan, Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, African artist Wangechi Mutu and Brazil's Ernesto Neto, said its co-curator and co-founder Bose Krishnamachari.

Patel said pioneering performance art researcher Roselee Goldberg is expected to anchor a module on performance art.

The challenge for the organisers of the biennale will be to transport fragile art works to Kochi, Patel said. Kochi is not connected to the rest of the world by air barring a handful of flights to the Middle East, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

"The Biennale Foundation is working with international transport companies to sort the bottlenecks in transporation," Bendandi said.

[Malayaali]

DC international book fair begins

The fourteenth DC international book fair and cultural fest was inaugurated on Monday by Pakistan- English writer Qaisra Shahraz at the Marine Drive. Minister of state K V Thomas presided over the function.

"Promoting literature is our main focus while conducting such programmes," said Jaison, marketing official at DC Books. Many stalwarts from the field of literature participated and interacted with the public on the inaugural day.

The book fair has dedicated a day focusing on children. Schoolchildren can take part in a story, poetry and composition writing competition 'Unnikale oru katha parayam' in both Malayalam and English on February 11 at 3pm.

Stalwarts like O N V Kurup, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, M K Sanu, Sugathakumari, M Mukundan, K Jayakumar and politicians like Benoy Viswam and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan will visit the fair. The book fair is conducted annually to present books by noted and aspiring writers in Kerala. Films from Tajikistan and Kenya will also be screened.

[Malayaali]

Kochi Muziris Biennale 2012

The virtual gallery of Durbar Hall is available on their website. Click on the below pic to check it. Its really cool.

[Malayaali]

Gandhi statue view from DH road


cc: yentha