TALK : LILA Foundation presents "Kochi Muziris Biennale: A Cultural Investment in Diversity" at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road > 7pm on 30th August 2016

Time : 7:00 pm Add to Calendar 30/08/2016 19:00 30/08/2016 20:30 Asia/Kolkata TALK "Kochi Muziris Biennale: A Cultural Investment in Diversity" Event Page : http://www.delhievents.com/2016/08/talk-kochi-muziris-biennale-cultural.html India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 DD/MM/YYYY

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served Basis)

Venue : Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Parking : Gate No. 1, 2 & 3 (Cars), Gate No. 2 (Bikes & Bicycles)
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Stations :
'Jor Bagh(Yellow Line)Exit Gate-1' - Walk Direction
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Area : Lodhi Road Area Events

Event Description : TALK "Kochi Muziris Biennale: A Cultural Investment in Diversity"

PRISM Series 4th edition on "Institution as Practice". 

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is a project in appreciation of, and education about, artistic expression and its relationship with society. KMB has succeeded in initiating a cosmopolitan dialogue for a new aesthetics and politics rooted in the Indian experience, but receptive to other worlds. It is today establishing itself as a centre for artistic engagement in India by drawing from the rich tradition of public action and public engagement in Kerala, towards building a new society that aims to be liberal, inclusive, egalitarian and democratic. The time has come to relate the story of its institutional practices through the artistic, administrative and political voices that have been instrumental in setting up this space that seeks to project the new energy of artistic practices in the subcontinent.

Speakers: MA Baby, Venu Vasudevan, Riyas Komu. 

MA Baby is a Polit Bureau Member of Communist Party of India (Marxist).He is known for nurturing a unique space of activism in his home state of Kerala by bringing together various actors and agencies from institutional spaces, parliamentary politics and cultural domain. He was very active in Manaveeyam, the new millennia cultural mission started by the Government of Kerala during 1999-2000. He was awarded the first Arjun Singh Award for the promotion of culture by Abhinav Rangamandal in 2013. He was a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) for 12 years, and a Minister in the Government of Kerala holding the responsibilities of Education and Culture (2006-2011). During this period, under his leadership, for the first time in India, for practitioners of Culture a welfare fund board was set up in Kerala through legislation,  the international short and documentary film festival of Kerala was launched and the international theatre festival of Kerala was initiated. He represented the Kundara Assembly Constituency in Kerala as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) during 2006-2016. He founded the prominent cultural organisation, SWARALAYA, and has also been the prime mover of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Riyas Komu is a multi-media artist and activist working towards reviving art education and developing art infrastructure in India. His works have been exhibited extensively in India and abroad. He was one of the two artists from India chosen by Robert Storr for the 52nd Venice Biennale. He co-founded the Kochi Muziris Bienalle in 2012, and initiated segments such as Children’s Biennale, Students Biennale, and Artists Cinema. He is currently working as Director of Programmes for the Kochi Biennale Foundation and developing projects focusing on Art Education in India. In October 2015, Art Review ranked Riyas Komu and Bose Krishnamachari among the 100 most influential people in the art world.

Venu Vasudevan is the Principal Secretary of Tourism in Kerala with the additional charges of the departments of backward classes and SC/ST development. A1990-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, he is well known for the paradigm shift he had brought to management of the National Museum when he was its Director General. Drawing on his rich pool of relevant experience, he devised many 'visitor first' strategies, which resulted in a 60 per cent footfall increase at the museum during his two-year tenure. A former joint secretary in the Ministry of Culture, he has had successful stints in the Department of Tourism, Kerala, as well the Tourism Ministry of India, earlier too. He played an important role in the 'Incredible India' campaign, and was instrumental in initiating the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. An active thespian, Venu still performs with his theatre group Abhinaya.

Collaboration  : LILA Foundation

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