Kochi | The Board of Trustees of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), which conducts the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, has announced the appointment of Dr V Venu, the former Chief Secretary to Kerala government, as the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation.

Kochi Biennale Foundation Trustee and President of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Bose Krishnamachari, said that Venu has notified the Trustees that he is coming on board pro bono, on an honorary basis and his appointment has come into effect from the 21st of this month.

The foundation said Venu has been associated with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale from the first edition, playing a key role in establishing the partnership between the Foundation and the Government of Kerala.

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale has won international acclaim as India's premier mega-art event, which is uniquely accessible to art lovers and members of the public alike.

Venu joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1990 and is a former Director General of the National Museum at New Delhi. He recently retired as the Chief Secretary of Kerala.

Kochi-Muziris Biennale is India's largest contemporary art festival which last year hosted 88 contemporary artists from across 40 countries in 16 venues.

More than nine lakh people visited the last Biennale which was held in 2023 to catch a glimpse of the art fiesta spread across 4.5 square kilometres across Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, the organisers said.