Kochi-Muziris Biennale Gets Its First Non-Indian Curator
French-Algerian artist Kader Attia to curate the seventh edition of one of India’s best known art events.
By Suman Tarafdar
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, one of India’s most beloved and largest art events, has announced Kader Attia as the curator for the 7th edition of the art festival, that is scheduled to begin in October 2027.
Attia is an internationally recognised artist, curator, and professor at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HfbK Hamburg).
About the appointment, Attia, whose work draws from psychoanalysis, philosophy, anthropology, and art history to propose that every cultural tradition, social institution, and built environment is in an infinite process of rupturing and mending, said, “Ever since I visited Kochi for the first time, I have dreamed of coming back and building connections between the many intertwined influences that are at the core of this culturally multi-layered city. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this desire to life on the scale of a biennial, together with the fantastic team of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, for its seventh edition.”
Attia will be the first curator with no past connection to India. In the past, there have been non-Indian curators, albeit with an Indian connection. The curator for the 5th edition was Shubigi Rao, an Indian-born Singaporean contemporary artist.
French-Algerian artist Kader Attia.
Growing up in the suburbs of Paris and Algiers, Attia’s work spans mediums such as sculpture, installation, photography, and video as well as research and social practice. Attia examines how societies process trauma, suppression, and loss. “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,” he says about his upcoming role.
Globally recognised Attia, who was the curator of the 12th Berlin Biennale (2022), and has won some of prestigious art awards, such as the Joan Miró Prize (2017), the Yanghyun Prize (2017), the Prix Marcel Duchamp (2016) and the Cairo Biennale Prize (2009), currently lives and works between Berlin and Paris.
Attia was selected by a committee chaired by Jitish Kallat, curator for the second edition of KMB. “Kader Attia brings to the Biennale artistic depth, curatorial openness, and a strong pedagogic sensibility,” said Kallat. “The committee was drawn to the poetic range and generative potential of his proposal, and to the flexible curatorial framework it offered for bringing multiple artistic practices, histories, and publics into meaningful relation in Kochi. Attia had previously participated in the 2014 edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and we look forward to the ways in which his curatorial vision will take shape in Kochi.”
The Unseen Protagonist, an art piece by a Biennale student.
The Na'vi mural in Fort Kochi is a striking piece of street art inspired by the Avatar movie.
KMB: Growing in repute
KMB is the largest art exhibition in the country and the biggest contemporary art festival in Asia. Attia is expected to begin a process of curatorial research and dialogue towards developing the framework for the 2027–2028 edition, with Kochi as a vital point of departure within a wider field of artistic, historical, and contemporary inquiry.
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation with support from the Government of Kerala. The sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2025–2026), which concluded on March 31, 2026, drew an estimated 6.62 lakh (662,000) visitors. At its peak, the festival has drawn up to 9 lakh visitors.
Conceptualised by Venu Vasudevan, former cultural secretary, Government of Kerala, the Biennale not only put the historic port city on the global arts map, it is also a major boost for hospitality for the city, as it hosts thousands of visitors from the rest of India and abroad.
“The Sixth Edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale was remarkable in many ways. It reaffirmed the Biennale’s role as a vibrant space for dialogue, imagination, and inclusiveness. The announcement of the new curator, Kader Attia, marks the beginning of a fresh artistic journey—one that will continue to challenge, inspire, and connect global voices with our local realities. We are committed to building on this legacy with new ideas, deeper engagements, and bold artistic explorations, while remaining rooted in Kochi’s unique cultural fabric,” pointed out Vasudevan.
Kader Attia with Jitish Kallat, curator for the second edition of KMB.
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.
Kader Attia
Curator, Kochi-Muziris Biennale
Past Curators of Kochi-Muziris Biennale
1st Edition (2012): Bose Krishnamachari & Riyas Komu
2nd Edition (2014–2015): Jitish Kallat (Wovens and Threads)
3rd Edition (2016–2017): Sudarshan Shetty (Forming in the pupil of an eye)
4th Edition (2018–2019): Anita Dube (Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life)
5th Edition (2022–2023): Shubigi Rao (In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire)
6th Edition (2025–2026): Nikhil Chopra (Lead), with Joe Halflong/HH Art
Images courtesy: Kochi Biennale Foundation
