‘The arts need the youth’: Why two Kolkata-based entrepreneurs are hosting Bengal’s first Biennale
Malavika and Jeet Banerjee of Gameplan Foundation have been thinking of hosting a biennale for more than a decade. Finally, the first edition is here.
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It is an attempt to “instigate conversations between the Bengal masters and contemporary practices, between diverse forms of art”.
That is what cultural entrepreneurs Jeet and Malavika Banerjee are hoping to do at the Bengal Biennale, which starts on November 29.
The first event of its kind in the state, the Bengal Biennale will include art exhibitions, installations, musical performances, theatrical performances, conversations, and workshops. More than 100 artists will participate.
It will take place in Shantiniketan from November 29 to December 22 and in Kolkata from December 6 to January 5. A biennale is a grand art exhibition that is held once every two years.
Jeet and Malavika Banerjee, directors of Gameplan Foundation, are the brain – or heart, as Malavika says – behind the event. Malavika Banerjee is also the director of the Kolkata Literary Meet and Jeet Banerjee has been promoting sports in India for over two decades.
Siddharth Sivakumar, the curator of the Biennale added that the artworks on display “explore transformative moments: abstract forms challenge socio-political narratives, science influences creative contours, and fashion intertwines with resistance. These intersections reflect the layered complexities and shifting identities of contemporary art today.”
In a conversation with Scroll, Jeet and Malavika Banerjee spoke about their long-held dream of...
