Flag hoisting ceremony of sixth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale at Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi on Friday (December 12, 2025). | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
All roads led to Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi on Friday (December 12) when the Kochi-Muziris Biennale flag was officially hoisted.
Curator Nikhil Chopra, standing in the middle of the small crowd that had gathered to watch, thanked the team who worked tirelessly behind the scenes and invited the public to experience the works on display.
“All the information is on the walls. Please read it carefully,” he said. “Read all the signs, all the symbols, all the connections, all the dialogues that happen between paintings, films, objects…things that may not even feel like art, but still are,” he added.
Visitors weaved their way through the galleries, clicking on pictures, scrutinizing the works and reflecting on some they found particularly interesting. The crowd was a mix of tourists, art students, volunteers and people from and around the Biennale site witnessing the work that had been going on for months.
Aspinwall House houses some of the important exhibits and installations, including the Panjeri Artists’ Union exhibition (a community of 14 professionals working across visual art, design, literature, film, photography and music), which presents a bouquet of artistic experiences that reflect political resistance.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former editor-in-chief of The Hindu N. Ram at the launch of the sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale at the Parade Ground in Fort Kochi on Friday (December 12, 2025). | Photo credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Installations and photographs by artist Dhiraj Rabha deal with the Assam insurgency, while Syndea’s Kirtika Kain’s experiments with print guide one through complex questions about Dalit history and memory. Covering an entire wall, RB Shajith’s large-scale realistic canvas reflects the rural landscape of the Malabar region.
Mr. Chopra encouraged the audience to start with the newer spaces, such as the SMS Art Gallery, which usually functioned as a wedding hall, and work their way back to Aspinwall House to get a complete picture of the space and events.
Spaces for the main exhibits and accompanying materials add impact to the artworks, and their colorful history offers the viewer much to think about.
Decorated streets, walls covered with murals and restaurants full of food… all this indicated that the Biennale had indeed arrived in the city.
Published – 13 Dec 2025 00:07 IST
