Kochi, Dec 16 (UNI) The sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), South Asia’s largest contemporary art festival, opened to the public on Monday, offering a mix of ticketed and free exhibitions spread across 22 venues in the city.
A one-day pass is priced at Rs 200 for visitors aged between 18 and 60. Students with a valid identity card and senior citizens above 60 years can access the festival for Rs 100, while children below the age of 10 are allowed free entry.
Weekly passes are also available at Rs 500 for students and senior citizens and Rs 1,000 for other visitors. Tickets can be purchased online through the official Biennale website or directly from Aspinwall House.
Tickets are mandatory for exhibitions held at Aspinwall House (Coir Godown), Anand Warehouse, SMS Hall, 111 Marcus and Café, Pepper House, SPACE (Indian Chamber of Commerce), and the newly added Island Warehouse at Willingdon Island. Entry to Durbar Hall is currently free, while exhibitions at the remaining venues are open to the public without charge.
The Biennale showcases 66 artist projects from over 25 countries, along with the Invitations exhibitions, Students’ Biennale, Art by Children, Edam, and several collateral shows.
All major programmes will run until March 31, 2026. This edition marks a significant expansion with the inclusion of the Island Warehouse at Willingdon Island, accessible via water metro, ferry, and road, adding a new geographical dimension to the festival.
The Invitations Programme, aimed at expressing solidarity with artists and collectives nurturing cultural ecosystems across the Global South, is being presented across seven venues. Participating institutions include Alice Yard (Trinidad and Tobago), Bienal das Amazônias (Brazil), Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research (Palestine), Ghetto Biennale (Haiti), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá (Panama), Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (Kenya), and ruangrupa/OK.Video (Jakarta), among others.
The Students’ Biennale, hosted at VKL Warehouse in Mattancherry, features projects by student-artists from over 175 art institutions across India and is curated by a collective of artists and curators from across the country.
The Edam exhibition, curated by Aishwarya Suresh and K.M. Madhusudhanan, spans three venues along Mattancherry Bazaar Road and presents works by 36 artists and collectives from Kerala and abroad.
A key attraction is the late Vivan Sundaram’s photography-based installation Six Stations of a Life Pursued, on display at Cube Art Space, Mattancherry.
In addition to exhibitions, the Biennale will host a wide range of performance art events, talks, discussions, music nights, and public programmes across its main and satellite venues, offering diverse ways for visitors to engage with contemporary art over the next three months.
Tickets from Rs 100 to Rs 200 as Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025 opens across 22 venues
