The Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) has joined hands with the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation and the Hayward Gallery to promote South Asian artists. They have announced the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation/Kochi-Muziris Biennale (DBF-KMB) Award—a new, multi-year exhibition and lecture programme.
The DBF-KMB Award will grant an emerging South Asian artist participating in the biennale the opportunity to present their first institutional solo show in the UK at Hayward Gallery’s HENI Project Space. The first recipient will be chosen from the fifth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, curated by artist and writer Shubigo Rao , opening in Kerala on December 12, according to a statement shared by the Kochi Muziris Biennale Foundation.
Every alternate year and between biennales, the Hayward Gallery will also host a public programme titled “The Durjoy Bangladesh Lecture Series.” Co-curated with the Kochi Biennale Foundation, these talks will draw on the biennale’s legacy by featuring leading artist-curators and creative practitioners from the South Asian region.
“The Kochi-Muziris Biennale was founded on the principle of keeping the artist at its core with the aim to build new audiences and develop meaningful platforms for emerging practices,” said Bose Krishnamachari, President of KMB. “We wanted to move beyond regions and think globally, building a peer to peer network that foregrounded our shared yet distinct realities,” he added.