The Return of India’s Biggest International Contemporary Art Exhibition
The much-anticipated sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is set to open its doors in Kochi, Kerala, on December 12, 2025, and will run until March 31, 2026. Over the course of 110 days, the historic port city will once again transform into a vibrant hub for contemporary international art, drawing artists, critics, and visitors from across the world.
Curatorial Leadership: Nikhil Chopra and HH Art Spaces
This edition is steered by renowned multidisciplinary artist Nikhil Chopra, in collaboration with the artist-led collective HH Art Spaces, based in Goa. Chopra is celebrated for his expansive practice that fuses performance, drawing, photography, sculpture, and installations. His curatorial experience is informed by global exposure, including significant presentations at Documenta 14, the Sharjah and Havana Biennales, and his previous participations in Kochi.
HH Art Spaces, co-founded by Chopra, is dedicated to fostering creativity through residencies, workshops, and exhibitions, bridging traditional and contemporary art practices and emphasizing collaboration across disciplines.
Theme: “For the Time Being”
Titled “For the Time Being”, the 2025–26 edition invites both artists and audiences to embrace process as methodology, resisting the pressures of creating a single, finished exhibition. Instead, the curatorial vision proposes the biennale as a living ecosystem; dynamic, responsive, and evolving, much like the artist communities that have long sustained the event.
“It is an invitation to embrace process as methodology, and to place the friendship economies that have long nurtured artist-led initiatives as the very scaffolding of the exhibition. We move away from the idea of the Biennale as a singular, central exhibition-event, and instead envision it as a living ecosystem; one where each element shares space, time, and resources, and grows in dialogue with each other.”
Rooted in Kochi’s historic port culture and multicultural legacy, the theme encourages a dialogue across geography and time—tracing shared memories, mirrored struggles, and new affinities grounded in empathy and deep listening.
Since its inception in 2012, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has grown into the most significant platform for contemporary art in India and South Asia’s largest. The event encapsulates the inclusive, cosmopolitan, and pluralistic spirit of Kerala, invoking the region’s mythical past as the ancient city of Muziris and its history as a crucible of diverse cultures and traditions.
Despite challenges, including delays and organizational changes in recent years, the biennale continues to catalyze conversations about art, politics, and society, inviting new perspectives and creative exchanges. The 2025–26 edition, under its new curatorial leadership, promises to reaffirm Kochi’s place on the global cultural map as a space of ongoing artistic negotiation and community.
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