This year, Air India and Air India Express have joined with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale as the festival's official travel partners, making it the biggest festival of contemporary art in Asia and the largest art display in the nation. Indian and international artists will display works in a range of forms at the four-month-long Biennale, which will start on December 23, 2022. These mediums include film, installation, painting, sculpture, new media, and performance art. The Biennale includes a robust schedule of events in addition to the exhibition, including discussions, seminars, films, music, workshops, and educational activities.
As part of this association, Air India will be flying international artists and art enthusiasts to Kochi to participate in the festival while Air India Express supports the event as sponsor. With over 38 flights per week, Air India connects Kochi to international and domestic destinations. Air India Express is the single largest international airline operating from Kochi airport in terms of number of flights. The airline connects the city to all major destinations in Gulf with 80 flights per week.
Air India Express has distinct livery designs, each tail of its aircraft portraying the diverse art and culture of the country. Recognising this unique feature, artists at Kochi Biennale Foundation will design an exclusive tail art for Air India Express. A newly inducted Boeing 737-800 aircraft will flaunt this tail art, taking the spirit of Biennale to the global stage. Besides, five unique mural paintings highlighting Air India's international destinations will be displayed at the Biennale.
Speaking on this unique aesthetic association, Mr Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer, Air India said, "Air India has always promoted the distinct art and culture of India and the legacy continues with our support to this aesthetic event in association with Kochi Biennale, which provides local and international artists with a platform to exhibit their art to the world. Through this collaboration, we are also seeking to connect with a considerably large segment of afficionados of art and culture in India and abroad.”
Commenting on this association, Mr Aloke Singh, CEO, Air India Express, said, "The Kochi-Muziris Biannale’s theme of connecting the modern with the mythical past, expressing that via contemporary art while making it accessible to the wider community, resonates well with what we stand for as an LCC and as the larger Air India group. We will proudly display a specially created artwork as 'tail-art' on an aircraft, to symbolise this association. Air India has always had a long and glorious history of promoting Indian art and culture with our distinct tail art on each aircraft, and this collaboration with KBF is another opportunity for Air India Express to support local and international artists.”
“We are elated to have Air India and Air India Express on board with us. Their tremendous support over the years for local art and artists is commendable. The Biennale is expected to offer the state's tourist and service industries a much-needed boost by putting Kerela on the map as a go-to location for art enthusiasts”, added Bose Krishnamachari, founder member and President of Kochi Biennale Foundation.
The association of Air India and Air India Express with this Art extravaganza is in sync with the airline's long and rich legacy of encouraging art and artists. The pioneer of Indian Aviation and the creator of Air India, JRD Tata had set the tone for this aesthetic mission for the airline with his vision of putting “a little bit of India” in most of Air India's international establishments and his passion for preserving and promoting Indian art and culture. One of the most impactful artworks in the booking office's interiors were the specially-commissioned large murals placed mostly in the lounges or behind the booking counters. The liveries of Air India Express aircraft are unique with each tail portraying the beauty and diversity of India’s rich culture and heritage. These tail arts make the fleet the cultural ambassadors of India.
About Air India Express:
Air India Express is India’s first international budget airline. It operates direct point-to-point services connecting primarily Tier 2/ Tier 3 cities in India with destinations in the Gulf/Middle East and South East Asia., with a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 – 800 NG aircraft in an all-economy configuration. Set up in 2005, it has emerged as one of the largest LCCs on the India-Gulf route, with a significant presence across the region. With 19 Indian cities and 14 international destinations in its network, the airline operates about 600 flights a week. Its livery is unique in the airline industry, showcasing Indian heritage and culture in a contemporary and striking manner. Each aircraft tail is used as a canvas to represent some aspect of its ‘Indian-ness’ with art, architecture and culture. In January 2022, Air India Express, together with its parent company Air India, was successfully privatized, with ownership returning to the Tata group that had initially founded Air India.
About Air India:
Founded by the legendary JRD Tata, Air India pioneered India’s aviation sector. Since its first flight on October 15, 1932, Air India has an extensive domestic network and has spread its wings beyond to become a major international airline with a network across the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Far-East, South-East Asia, Australia and the Gulf. Air India is a member of Star Alliance, the largest global airline consortium. After 69 years as a Government-owned enterprise, Air India and Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata group in January 2022. The present management at Air India is driving the five-year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI to establish itself as a world-class global airline with an Indian heart.
Vihaan.AI is Air India’s transformational roadmap over five years with clear milestones. It will be focussing on dramatically growing both its network and fleet, developing a completely revamped customer proposition, improving reliability and on-time performance. The airline will also be taking a leadership position in technology, sustainability, and innovation, while aggressively investing in the best industry talent. Vihaan.AI is aimed at putting Air India on a path to sustained growth, profitability and market leadership.
About Kochi Biennale Foundation:
Founded in 2010, the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) was started by artists for artists, with the intention to bring contemporary art and ideas from across the world to South Asia. Situated in Fort Kochi, an island not far away from Muziris, the ancient port on the maritime silk route, the site was a nod to both a history of trade and cultural contamination, and a locus for global, cutting-edge contemporary art. This year, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, turns ten. While it is a moment to celebrate, it has also been a time of deep reflection—to learn from our past, acknowledge our failures and continue working in and with our present.