Kochi Biennale Reinvents Itself as a Living Ecosystem

A new era dawns on Kochi this December. Titled “For the Time Being”, the sixth Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) departs from tradition—curator Nikhil Chopra (with his Goa-based collective HH Art Spaces) is reimagining this esteemed festival not as a static art show, but as an evolving, breathing ecosystem running from December 12, 2025 to March 31, 2026 

Why this edition feels different

• Process over product
  Nikhil Chopra emphasizes “embracing process as methodology”, binding various art forms—performance,
  installations, film, workshops—into a cohesive web of “friendship economies” that breathe life into the Biennale.

• A dynamic, decentralised festival
  Instead of centering on a flagship exhibition, KMB 2025 will shift across multiple Kochi sites—trading traditional
  spectacle for responsive, site-driven interventions that evolve alongside visitors and context 

• Port city as metaphor
  Drawing from Kochi’s legacy of sea-faring exchange, the Biennale frames itself as a node in a transnational web,
  where local narratives meet global dialogues, and boundaries dissolve in creative coalescence 

Program highlights to anticipate

• An international exhibition featuring around 60 artists, blending the local and global .

• A rich roster of talks, performances, film screenings, plus signature strands—Students’ Biennale, Invitations,
  Art By Children, Residency Programme—sauntering through the city’s cultural precincts. 

 

Why it matters to Asia’s art community

KMB has, since its 2012 debut, catalyzed Kochi’s transformation from port town to South Asia’s flagship art destination. Nikhil Chopra’s ecosystemic premise injects fresh urgency: it’s a Biennale not just to view, but to live in, feed, gravitate,
challenge—and co-create.