Kerala flood relief: Kochi Biennale donates Rs 3 cr from art auction

Proceeds worth Rs 3 crore from a January art auction meant to support disaster relief work following the 2018 Kerala floods were donated to the relief fund here on Wednesday.

Conducted by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), the auction generated funds which were channelled to the Kerala government towards the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.

The amount was handed over to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by a KBF delegation led by the foundation's President Bose Krishnamachari, KBF said in a statement.

As per the arts-based foundation, Vijayan hailed the endeavour as a sign of KBF's social commitment, showing the artists' care and concern for their fellow beings, and called for further cooperation from the cultural world towards the government's 'Rebuild Kerala' mission.

The January 18 auction titled 'Art Rises for Kerala' in Kochi had sold donated artworks of about 40 artists from India and abroad, including Gulammohammed Sheikh, Anish Kapoor, Dayanita Singh, Francesco Clemente, Anju Dodiya and K.M. Madhusudhanan.

The auction, conducted by Mumbai-based Saffronart and the KBF, was held midway the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a major art event for the Indian art world. IANS