Kochi Muziris Biennale 2025

One of the most important contemporary art venues in South Asia, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has made Kochi, India's ancient port city, a vibrant hub for artistic innovation and cross-cultural engagement.Founded in 2012 by artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu under the Kochi Biennale Foundation, the Biennale is India's first and biggest international exhibition of contemporary art. The festival has grown in scope and ambition since its first edition, which featured 89 artists from 23 nations.

It has garnered international notice and encouraged interaction between local audiences and foreign art practices. Over the course of its ten-year existence, each edition has been characterised by distinctive curatorial themes that activate Kochi's historic neighbourhoods as immersive artistic landscapes while examining pressing social, political, and cultural issues.

With artist-driven curatorship and a strong focus on discussion, collaboration, and experimentation, the Biennale has continuously questioned traditional exhibition formats since 2012. Its status as a crucial cultural event that connects international art discourses with local narratives was cemented by later editions that addressed topics like maritime histories, decolonial futures, feminist praxis, and resilience in times of global instability. Additionally, the Biennale stimulates Kerala's year-round arts programming, urban revitalisation, and cultural tourism.

The 6th edition (2025–26), titled For the Time Being, continues this trajectory of innovation. Curated by performance artist Nikhil Chopra in collaboration with HH Art Spaces, this edition runs for 110 days from 12 December 2025 to 31 March 2026 and features 66 artists and collectives from over 25 countries spread across multiple venues in Kochi. Rather than presenting a singular, static exhibition, this iteration reimagines the Biennale as a “living ecosystem” that foregrounds embodied knowledge, durational performance, site-responsive works, and collaborative practices. Alongside the main visual arts displays, the program includes talks, workshops, film screenings, and complementary strands such as the Students’ Biennale, Invitations, Art By Children and the Residency Programme.

At its core, For the Time Being encourages visitors to reflect on how bodies carry histories and cultural memory, and on Kochi’s own layered identity as a global port shaped by centuries of trade, migration, and exchange. This edition builds on the Biennale’s longstanding commitment to artistic freedom, cross-cultural dialogue, and community engagement, reaffirming its position as a vital intersection of contemporary art and public life