New Delhi: The BMW Group has extended support for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016, marking the third edition of the art event in Kochi, Kerala. The Bavarian automaker has been a partner for the KBM since it began in 2012. The third edition will run from 12 December 2016 to 29 March 2017, across 9 venues in the Fort Kochi region. KMB is unique in its leadership of artist-curators, and its current edition will present 112 works of art by 97 artists from 36 countries. Sudarshan Shetty, an internationally-renowned Indian artist and member of the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, has curated the KMB. The Rolls-Royce Art Programme concluded in November 2016.
Frank Schloeder, President (act.), BMW Group India, said, “Right from its inception, cultural engagement has been an integral part of BMW Group India. As an active partner, BMW Group has been promoting creative exchanges between cultures, people and within the company.”
“Since 2012 BMW has enlarged its cultural engagement in India by fostering a long-term commitment and partnership with Kochi-Muziris Biennale, enabling it to be a world-class platform for the showcase of contemporary art,” he added, before saying, “The third edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016 offers us yet another opportunity to widen the scope of our cultural engagement by showcasing various artistic expressions in projects focussed on the thought, ‘Forming in the pupil of an eye’.”
The automaker held the BMW Art Talk, a panel discussion on the topic of “The Art of Patronage”, attended by patron Feroze Gujral, who is also co-founder of the Gujral Foundation, along with Kerala Tourism representative Dr. Venu V and Thomas Girst, head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement.
KMB is a project that aims to create not only a platform for contemporary art in India but also to provide a platform for social change. Sudarshan Shetty has been an artist for over 30 years, with his works spanning art installations, performance art, videos and sculptures. He was the first Indian artist commissioned into the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, which comprises of new works commissioned, partners with organisations, art drives and talks, and other art events.
PTI