KOCHI: Another Biennale season is here. In the three months starting December 12, the streets of Mattancherry and Fort Kochi will be imbued with the spirit of artistic fervour. The preceding two editions of the Biennale have seen enthusiastic connoisseurs and fervent critics spar over its conduct primarily because of the generous funding extended by the state government.
When the former group welcomed the event as an opportunity for the artists and the public to come in contact with each other and the art from around the world, the latter shunned the perceived elitism and extravagance of the festival.
The main takeaway of Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran’s statement regarding Biennale’s third edition, which kicks off on Monday, was the government’s commitment to ‘ensure the participation of the commoners’ in the festival. What do the laypersons of Mattancherry and Fort Kochi have to say about the festival?
Jayan, a resident of Mattanchery who drives an on-hire Ape Mini, is enthusiastic. Biennale is the time when he puts his latent artistic talent to work. He gives his vehicle a makeover by painting his favourite images on it. Last time the theme was traditional Kerala arts, this time images of all the Chief Ministers of the state till date adorn his vehicle.
“I like watching the artists work. Whenever I get some time off from my job, I go to the venues and observe them,” says Jayan. Observing minute details at the on-going work at Cabral Yard, an important venue of Biennale, Jayan recounts the various installations that stood there two years back. But, Jayan can’t say that Biennale is open to everyone.
“Last year, there was a foreign artist who worked with pots, ropes and clay - the kind of materials that we use on a daily basis. It definitely was beautiful. I was wondering if a local would be given a platform like this if he works with clay and ropes,” he grins. Jayan’s son is an artist who has his works adorning the walls of many offices and houses in Kochi. But, Jayan says his son is reluctant to even approach the Biennale organisers for fear of being rejected. “He says his kind of art might not be welcome here. He is now studying website design and wants to go to the Gulf,” adds Jayan.
The feeling of being excluded from the big ticket programmes served top-down by the government are shared by others as well. Muhammed Ali, who runs an antique shop near Pepper House, says the benefit for the locals stops at the boom in business that accompany any festival. “I have been here for over 40 years and haven’t seen a local talent being celebrated here,” he says. Having said that, Ali thinks the idea of a festival of art is commendable. “I have seen some good work of art which communicated even to me, a fifth standard dropout. The artists who come here are undoubtedly talented,” he says.