Recently, unprecedented floods in many parts of Kerala have devastated the landscape—destroying homes and livelihoods, displacing thousand, and taking many lives. These were the worst floods the state has seen in a century. In support, Kochi Biennale Foundation has initiated Art Rises for Kerala (ARK), a live auction effort aimed at bringing together the regional and global art community to aid those affected by the disaster, as well as those working tirelessly to rebuild the state. Dayanita Singh, Subodh Gupta and Anish Kapoor, along with more than 40 artists, will be contributing artworks to the Art Rises for Kerala live auction set to take place in Kochi in January 2019.

The first announcement of the ARK auction was made at a very special gathering of the art community at the AD Design Show 2018—Mumbai’s luxury art and design fair—that made its debut across three days, October 26-28 at the Dome@NSCI, SVP Stadium, Worli. The event was supported by Condé Nast India in association with the Kochi Biennale Foundation, Bose Krishnamachari, V Sunil, Subodh Gupta, Dinesh Vazirani, and Sangita Jindal.

“Given that the Kochi Biennale Foundation is the pride of the state and of Kochi, we felt that we needed to go beyond mere rhetoric and simple words and do something sincere and significant. And out of that came the idea of an ark—as in Noah’s Ark—which was how ARK (Art Rises for Kerala) was born,” Alex Kuruvilla, managing director, Condé Nast,  said in his speech at the AD Design Show 2018.

Dinesh Vazirani, co-founder and CEO of Saffronart, said, “It’s wonderful to see the art community gathered here tonight and for artists to give something back to the state. Kerala has been devastated by floods… we might think it happened a while ago, but the healing process has just begun.”

The Kochi Biennale Foundation is in the process of putting together the ARK (Art Rises for Kerala) Auction, that will be held in Kochi on January 18, 2019. The auction is in support of the Kerala Flood Relief initiatives and 100 per cent of proceeds will be donated to the CMDRF (Chief Minister of Kerala’s Disaster Relief Fund). ARK works to support the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, a targeted effort by the Government of Kerala to provide relief to those affected by the floods. Along with the distribution of basic goods, resources, and immediate care, the Fund is also helping to rebuild damaged infrastructure all over the state.