Kochi Biennale declares free entry for visitors on Mondays

Kochi: People now have a reason to look forward to the start of the workweek with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) declaring free entry to all events and all venues, on Mondays.

From 11 am to 5 pm every Monday, India's only Biennale will be open to visitors free of charge, organisers said here today.

In order to make the works at the Biennale more accessible to a wider group of visitors, there will also be guided tours conducted by specially trained volunteers at Aspinwall House, the primary venue, twice daily at 11 am and 3 pm, they said 

The tours will survey the artworks on display and explain how they tie into KMB 2016 curator Sudarshan Shetty's vision for the Biennale in English, Malayalam and Hindi.

"We want to have as many people as possible attend.

This is an event for everyone and we want to make sure everyone can afford to see the Biennale. Since KMB 2016 started on a Monday, we have chosen Mondays as the day when people should be allowed in for free," said KMB co-founder Bose Krishnamachari in a release here.

"At the same time, selling tickets is crucial because it helps pay our daily maintenance costs," Krishnamachari added.

The third edition of the Biennale has already seen more than 30,000 visitors, accounting for both ticketed and non-ticketed entries and attendance at shows, programmes and events across venues, through its first seven days.