No immediate move to remove Bose as Kochi’s art curator, says Mayor

The Kochi Corporation is in no hurry to remove artist and curator Bose Krishnamachari from his role as the city’s maiden art, design and cultural curator, despite reports that his resignation from the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) followed a sexual harassment complaint by a former colleague.

The newly elected United Democratic Front-led Corporation council had appointed Mr. Krishnamachari earlier this month after the proposal to create such a first-of-its-kind position was included in its maiden Budget. The allegation surfaced less than a fortnight after he assumed charge in Mayor V.K. Minimol’s chamber on March 11. Mr. Krishnamachari has dismissed the charge as baseless.

Mayor Minimol recalled that V. Venu, chairperson of KBF, along with others, had visited her to invite her to Biennale. “I had told them that we propose to appoint Mr. Krishnamachari as the city’s art curator and asked whether his decision to quit was prompted by reasons we should be aware of. However, I was told that the decision was due to personal reasons. They could have warned us then,” she said.

The Corporation, she added, did not wish to make a knee-jerk reaction and would rather wait to verify the credentials of the allegation. The Mayor said she had spoken to Mr. Krishnamachari, who dismissed the charge as “fabricated” and expressed his intent to contest it legally.