The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) has appointed UAE-based businessman Adeeb Ahamed as a trustee in its board, seven months ahead of the fifth edition of India’s biggest contemporary art festival.
Ahamed, a native of Thrissur, runs the LuLu Financial Group in Abu Dhabi and is also managing director of its retail arm Tablez as well as hospitality investment arm Twenty14 Holdings.
KBF founder-president Bose Krishnamachari, while announcing the appointment, spoke of Ahamed’s “active interest in art and culture”, adding that he “brings to the table a plethora of ideas and experience as a global businessman”.
“It is important that young business leaders are part of the cultural landscape. We’re glad that we could bring on board someone like Ahamed, who shares our vision as an institution,” added Krishnamachari, a renowned artist who was the co-curator of the first Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) in 2012.
Ahamed is an influential thought leader and philanthropist with an educational background from Switzerland and the UK. He serves on the senior advisory board of the World Economic Forum’s South Asia Regional Strategy Group, that is the highest decision-making body for the global body’s activities in the subcontinent.
Ahamed actively contributes to education and elderly welfare projects. With business operations spanning across 14 countries, he is consistently ranked among the ‘Top 100 Indian Leaders in the Arab World’ by Forbes Middle East .
With Covid-19 dampening the global economy and people’s morale, the KMB’s theme for the upcoming edition can lead to a sustainable dialogue on the role of art in times of human crisis, according to Krishnamachari.
The previous edition of KMB spanned 108 days, featuring 94 artist projects in 10 venues of Kochi, which saw 6.2 lakh footfalls.