French-Algerian Artist Kader Attia to Curate the Seventh Edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale

The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) has announced the internationally acclaimed artist and curator, Kader Attia, as the curator of the seventh edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).

Curator Announcement
- Kader Attia, French-Algerian artist and professor at HfbK Hamburg, will curate the Seventh Edition of KMB.
- Known for exploring history, memory, repair, and colonial legacies through installation, sculpture, film, and archival research.
- Attia previously participated in the 2014 Biennale.

Event Timeline
- The Seventh Edition will open in December 2027 and run into 2028.
- Attia will begin curatorial research and dialogue to shape the framework.

Statements
- Jitish Kallat (President, KMB): praised Attia’s “artistic depth, curatorial openness, and pedagogic sensibility.”
- Kader Attia: expressed joy at returning to Kochi, calling it a “culturally multi-layered city” and noting, “Dreams repair us, like art… and the Biennale, as well as Kerala, will give us the space-time to reclaim our sovereignty over our dreams.”
- Dr. Venu V (Chairperson, KBF): emphasized the Biennale as a “new conversation with the world” and reaffirmed its role as the ‘People’s Biennale’.

Biennale Context
- The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is India’s largest contemporary art biennale, organized by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (est. 2010).
- The Sixth Edition, curated by Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, concluded on 31 March 2026.

This appointment signals a Biennale that will likely engage deeply with themes of colonial history, repair, and cultural memory, while remaining rooted in Kochi’s unique heritage.