India's Kochi-Muziris Biennale has been described as one of the most significant newly emergent biennales, alongside Shanghai, Sharjah and Dakar. This book presents a close reading of the unique context of the Kochi Biennale as well as sets out a broader critical framework for understanding global, contemporary art and its effects.

Robert E. D'Souza is Head of Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK.

Sunil Manghani is Reader in Critical and Cultural Theory, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK.

Introduction I Is Art Enough? 1. The Biennale Effect 2. Effects of Mobility, Visibility and Connectivity 3. The Cultural Politics of 'Whorled Explorations' 4. 'The Biennale was Not the Issue' An interview with Riyas Komu II Making Work 5. Making a Biennale: Art Interrupted 6. Curation in/as Dialogue: the Correspondence of Jitish Kallat 7. Painterly Explorations and the Social Gestus of Contemporary Art 8. End of Empire III Beyond the Event 9. 'A People's Biennale': A Democracy of Visual Culture? 10. Analogue and Digital Audiences 11. Towards a New Art Education 12. Regional Effects - From Triennale to Biennale, from Festival to Summit