File photo of last year's Kochi Biennale.
The second edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale, an international exhibition of contemporary art, is set to be a game changer for more reasons than one.
For many artists in Kochi, the exhibition means a lot more than simply creating art. It is also a collective attempt at expanding the limited spaces for celebrating themselves in today's era.
"We have our own serious and old culture, which is not being given importance. Culture is being seen as Bollywood. Biennale is a political and cultural statement that our culture is as important as it was historically," says Sir Anish Kapoor, a well known artist.
Meanwhile, Jitish Kallat, curator for Kochi Biennale, says the government remains a committed partner and funds should come through.
"But for now it's an absolute strain on resources. It's pretty much a miracle that Kochi Biennale office every other day has zero finances and some friend from somewhere extends funding in some form," adds Mr Kallat.
Last year, the government supported them with 63 per cent of the required funding. However, this year, so far they have received less than 10 per cent.
Only a few weeks ago, a fund crunch forced these artists to begin an online fund raiser. They managed to raise Rs 2.25 lakh.
"The fact that all this has come from many people would mean that all the benches and the carpentry comes from crowd funding, and that is very tangible," says Mr Kallat.
Around Rs 5 lakh come from patrons and art lovers from across the world. Bollywood Director Karan Johar is one such celebrity who has pledged his support.
An art festival of this scale, is perhaps the first in India to have opened itself to public funding. The entry pass costs Rs 100.
Riyaz Gomu, Co-Founder of Kochi Muziris Biennale, says, "India has never asked for crowd funding to sustain an art project. So it's also a message that in a country where you only have 2 per cent of total budget kept aside for art ad culture, people need to come onboard to save this."