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GOING FORWARD contemporary art community. The Tata Trusts Students’
Biennale awards also bring to the limelight the works of
• Concluding the 3-month training course in the exceptional student-artists and over the years, the Tata
conservation of textiles (ongoing), planning and Trusts awardees have built successful careers as
implementing the 3-month training course in the contemporary artists.
conservation of photographs, and planning and
implementing of the Masters in Art Conservation course
in partnership with a suitable Indian university.

• Implementing the Students’ Biennale awards in the form
of international travel grants and national residencies.

• Developing projects in art conservation and
film preservation.

BEST PRACTICES

• Designing and implementing the three-month-long
training courses in conservation of specific materials
held across the five partner institutes under the Art
Conservation Initiative. Designed to impart intensive,
practical training in the conservation of specific
materials (like paper, oil paintings, wood, metals, etc.),
these courses aid practising conservators in specialising CHALLENGES FACED
and honing their conservation skills particular to • Planning and conducting six 3-month courses in
one material. conservation across five institutes, while taking into
account faculty availability, region-specific holidays, and
• Giving fellowships in film preservation to allow movement-related seasonal changes.
deserving candidates to participate and learn
from international faculty the best practices of • Despite organisational challenges faced during the main
film preservation, digital preservation, and Kochi-Muziris Biennale, which resulted in a delay in the
object conservation. opening of the main exhibition, the Students’ Biennale

exhibition was well-executed and launched on schedule.
• Setting up the Students’ Biennale exhibition, which
engages, through an open call, with student-artists from
across Indian art colleges, allowing for the selected
students to produce works of art through production
grants, and exhibit them to a wide audience during the
4-month Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The students learn to
reflect on their artistic practice, get exposed to
exhibition-making, and engage with the wider

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