India at Venice Biennale 2026 curtain raiser: Many voices, one resonance
French-Algerian Artist Kader Attia who was appointed curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) has announced internationally acclaimed artist and curator Kader Attia as the curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).The announcement was made by Jitish Kallat, president of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, at a special event organised by the foundation in Venice on Friday.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 open in December 2027, according to a release.Born in Dugny, France, in 1970, Kader Attia is an internationally recognised artist, curator, and professor at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HfbK Hamburg). His practice engages deeply with questions of history, memory, repair, and the enduring legacies of colonialism.Working across installation, sculpture, film, and archival research, Attia has developed a body of work that brings together artistic, anthropological, and philosophical inquiry. As the curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, he will begin a process of curatorial research and dialogue towards developing the framework for the 2027–2028 edition, with Kochi as a vital point of departure within a wider field of artistic, historical, and contemporary inquiry, it said.“Ever since I visited Kochi for the first time, I have dreamed of coming back and building connections between the many intertwined influences that are at the core of this culturally multi-layered city,” said Attia, who had previously participated in the 2014 edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. “Dreams repair us, like art… and the Biennale, as well as Kerala, will give us the space-time to reclaim our sovereignty over our dreams,” he said.Mr. Kallat said that Kader Attia brings to the biennale artistic depth, curatorial openness, and a strong pedagogic sensibility. The committee was drawn to the poetic range and generative potential of his proposal, and to the flexible curatorial framework it offered for bringing multiple artistic practices, histories, and publics into meaningful relation in Kochi, he said.V. Venu, chairperson of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, said the announcement of the new curator marked the beginning of a fresh 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 the artist Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, concluded on March 31. Published - May 08, 2026 08:57 pm IST