Just hours before the fifth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale was due to let in visitors, Krishnamachari, its founder-president, announced it would be delayed by ten days, as three venues weren’t ready. To The Art Newspaper, the artist-curator blamed ‘adverse weather, a lack of timely access to our main venue, shipping delays, higher travel and logistical costs’. Over 50 participating artists wrote an open letter condemning bad organisation, though; and at least one artist pulled out. When the show, curated by Shubigi Rao, did open, it was well praised, proving again to be India’s most important contemporary exhibition. It remains the touchstone biennial for the region and beyond: ‘evocative, poignant, and moving’, wrote Ocula; a ‘ray of hope’, said Art News. While the biennial brings in international artists, Krishnamachari is firmly interested in the value they bring to his local Kerala, speaking at the India Today Conclave South conference about ‘democratising’ art, a desire manifested in the show he curated in November for the government-backed Keraleeyam festival, a showcase of neurodiverse artists.