3 - The Asia Africa Connect at Kochi-Muziris Biennale

Presentation Abstract
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, established in 2012, is India’s largest contemporary art event, held in Kochi, Kerala. Named after the ancient port city of Muziris, it symbolizes the region’s historical role as a global trade hub and a cultural crossroads. The Biennale brings together artists, curators, and audiences from around the world, its global connections are rooted in both history and its curatorial vision. Muziris was linked to maritime trade with North Africa, Arabia and China and the Biennale revives this spirit of exchange. By inviting international artists and engaging with global themes like migration, identity, and climate change, the event fosters cross-cultural dialogue and artistic experimentation. The Asia- Africa connect was prominent at the conception of the biennale, notes prominent art critic from Nigeria, Okwui Enwezor (2014). This paper aims to critically examine a few exhibits and explores this thematic connect. "One Hundred and Nineteen Deeds of Sale" by Sue Williamson features transaction records of Dutch East India Company which enslaved and transported Indians to work at their estate in South Africa. The large-scale installation features thousands of glass bottles inscribed with names of slaves, maritime equipment, tells the story of forced migration and colonial connect between Kochi and Cape-Town. Ali Cherri's "Of Men and Gods and Mud" is a triptych film set in a Sudanese brickyard along the Nile, exploring the interplay between urban development. Artworks such as these make salient the effects of colonial and neo-colonial labour practices and capitalist ventures on local population across Asia and Africa.