Franco-Algerian artist Kader Attia, who has been appointed curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) has announced internationally renowned artist and curator Kader Attia as the curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).
This was announced by Jitish Kallat, president of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, at a special event organized by the foundation on Friday in Venice.
Attia was selected by a committee chaired by Mr. Kallat. Its members were Shilpa Gupta, Amrita Jhaveri, Pooja Sood, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Mariam Ram and Rirkrit Tiravanija. The seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will begin in December 2027, according to a report.
Born in Dugny, France in 1970, Kader Attia is an internationally recognized artist, curator and professor at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HfbK Hamburg). His practice is deeply engaged with questions of history, memory, reparations and the enduring legacy of colonialism.
Working across installation, sculpture, film and archival research, Attia has developed a body of work that combines artistic, anthropological and philosophical inquiry. As curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi Biennale, Muziris will initiate a process of curatorial research and dialogue towards the development of a framework for the 2027-2028 edition, with Kochi as a vital starting point in the wider field of artistic, historical and contemporary inquiry.
“Ever since I first visited Kochi, I dreamed of returning and building connections between the many intertwined influences that are at the core of this culturally multi-layered city,” said Attia, who participated in the 2014 Kochi-Muziris Biennale. “Dreams repair us, like art… and the Biennale, like Kerala, will give us the space-time to reclaim our sovereignty over our dreams,” he said.
Mr. Kallat said that Kader Attia brings artistic depth, curatorial openness and a strong pedagogical sensibility to the Biennale. The committee was drawn to the poetic scope and generative potential of his proposal and the flexible curatorial framework it offered for bringing diverse art practices, histories and publics into meaningful relationship in Kochi, he said.
V. Venu, chairman of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, said the announcement of the new curator marked the beginning of a new artistic journey – “one that will continue to challenge, inspire and connect global voices with our local realities.”
The sixth edition of the biennale, curated by artist Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, ended on March 31.
Published – 08 May 2026 20:57 IST
