Koodaaram: The Pavilion At Cabral Yard, Kochi

During the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, an open structure inspired by the traditional Koothambalam served as a space for performance and lectures as well as one for conversations, to exchange thoughts and ideas, and engage in debate and discussion.

- Anita Dube, Madhav Raman and Kaiwan Mehta

Architecture, through its terrain, material and devices, opens and closes edifices in space, thereby mediating social and environmental alienation or coalescence. The architectural notion of a pavilion is that of an “island”: of respite, reinvigoration, contemplation, conversation and transience. Unlike the other Fort Kochi venues, Cabral Yard carries no architectural vestiges of its past. It follows a cycle of natural rejuvenation during its dormancy between biennales. It is simultaneously a gated precinct of profuse verdancy and an important hub for convening people, the beating social heart of a bustling biennale. It is a venue for art, as a process, an event or an incident,with people. In order to explore the curatorial vision for KMB 2018, we deconstruct “the pavilion within the yard”. Unpacking its architecture and programme to occupy the whole one-acre site, the entire Cabral Yard is activated to perform as a island-hub for art with people.

Of light and lightness