KBF Opens Invitations Programme Ghetto Biennale with Spectres of History (2025) by Atis Rezistans

Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) has opened its Invitations Programme with the exhibition “Ghetto Biennale: Spectres of History (2025)” by the Haitian artist collective Atis Rezistans. The show was inaugurated on February 13, 2026 at St Andrews Parish Hall, Fort Kochi, followed by a high tea.

Artists & Origins:
Atis Rezistans is a dynamic collective from the Grand Rue neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, known for transforming discarded materials into radical sculptural assemblages.

Materials & Themes:
Works are created from engine parts, TV sets, motherboards, scrap wood, and even human bones, reflecting Haitian Vodou traditions, African heritage, revolutionary history, and dystopian sci-fi influences.

Conceptual Focus:
- Explores the agency of the Haitian Revolution.
- Examines knowledge systems of Haitian majority cultures.
- Challenges global art institutions and hierarchies.

Community & Practice:
Atis Rezistans includes both established sculptors and emerging artists working across sculpture, painting, photography, video, music, slam poetry, and performance.

History of Ghetto Biennale:
First held in 2009 as a response to barriers faced by Haitian artists in accessing international art spaces. Since then, they have hosted over 300 international artists, fostering transcultural collaborations.

The exhibition positions itself as a radical reimagining of art-making from survivalist recycling, where discarded industrial materials become symbols of resistance, spirituality, and cultural memory.