KIRAN KESAV
Kiran Kesav is an independent filmmaker based in Kerala, India. He has been involved in filmmaking and documentation, particularly in the Indian contemporary art scene, for over 14 years. Kiran has served as the Director of Video Production and Documentation for the India Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. He has also worked as the Head of Video Lab at the Kochi Biennale Foundation and as an Individual Video Production Consultant for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Kiran Kesav has collaborated with various prominent art establishments, including the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, National Gallery of Modern Art, German Development Cooperation (GIZ), Archaeological Survey of India, Ministry of Culture, Infosys Science Foundation, Kohn Gallery Los Angeles, Science Gallery Bengaluru, Galerie Templon Paris and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In mainstream cinema, he worked as the Post-Production Supervisor for the national award-winning feature film ‘Bhayanakam’ (Fearsome), and he also worked as a project designer and executive producer for different projects.
With an academic background in Mass Communication & Journalism and literature, Kiran Kesav's filmmaking philosophy is firmly rooted. He is keen on experimenting with his practice and finds joy in collaborating with individuals from diverse backgrounds, as he believes it brings a plethora of creative possibilities to his endeavors.
MAJOR PROJECTS
2025
Director, Video Lab (Consultant) | "For the Time Being" sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, curated by artist Nikhil Chopra and HH Art Spaces
Associate Producer | Feature film "If on a Winter’s Night" premiered at the 2025 Busan International Film Festival and won the Hylife Vision Award.
Artist Film for Google Arts & Culture featuring Jitish Kallat and his artwork series Wind Study: Hilbert Curve.
“Of World Within Worlds: Gulammohammed Sheikh, A Retrospective.”KNMA, Delhi.
(exploring 65 years of Gulammohammed Sheikh’s outstanding oeuvre.)
2024
The Rooted Nomad: MF Husain | La Biennale di Venezia 2024 : First immersive exhibition examining the life and work of one of India’s most important and influential artists, M.F. Husain resonates with the 2024 Venice Biennale’s theme of “Foreigners Everywhere.
Jitish Kallat - Wind Study (Hilbert Curve), Encounters, Art Basel Hong Kong 2024, Artist film for Templon Gallery.
Walking through a Songline: Immersive multimedia installation is inspired by the National Museum of Australia's renowned exhibition, 'Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters'
Eckart Muthesius and Manik Bagh – Pioneering Modernism in India, Curated by Raffael Dedo Gadebusch
The Elemental You: Simryn Gill, Neha Choksi and Hajra Waheed, Curated by Akansha Rastogi
Purvaee. Evoking Pedagogic Lineages, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
Antumbra: Jitish Kallat | India Art Fair 2024 : Documentation of Immersive installation 'Antumbra' (2024) was FICA’s Special Artist Project at India Art Fair 2024.
Sci560, Science in the City, Science Gallery Bengaluru.
CARBON 6th exhibition-season by Science Gallery Bengaluru featuring over 35 exhibits from artists across the world.
2023
Very Small Feelings: Co-produced by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and Samdani Art Foundation (SAF). It is the fourth exhibition under KNMA's multi-part, long-term program 'Young Artists of Our Times'.
12th edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala.
Pop South Asia: Artistic Explorations in the Popular, co-curated by Iftikhar Dadi, artist, and John H. Burris, Professor at Cornell University, and Roobina Karode, Director and Chief Curator of the KNMA.
"In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire" Curated by Shubigi Rao, 5th edition Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Tangled Hierarchy 2, curated by Jitish Kallat and centres on a collection of five humble yet remarkable used envelopes.
2022
Strategic Partnerships for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPIPA), The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Between Vows and Words: Anupam Sud, Solo show on printmaking – covering five decades of her artistic practice.
Traversing Space: Here and Beyond Centennial Exhibition of Sayed Haider Raza, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India.
Convergence, A Panorama of Photography’s French Connections in India, An exhibition on photography, Delhi, India.
Somnath Hore | Birth of a White Rose, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi, India.
‘Walking with the waves’- Atul Dodiya’s solo show, Knma, Delhi, India.
‘K Ramanujam: Into the Moonlight Parade…’, curated by Roobina Karode, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi, India.
2021
'Lokame Tharavadu’ (the world is one family), curated by Bose Krishnamachari.
Project Designer: ‘Kopfkino’ Non feature film originally inspired by Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”.
2020
'Submerge': An art-science exhibition to explore water in our lives, Science Gallery Bengaluru, India.
'The Mirror Sees Best in the Dark', Artist Bose Krishnamachari's solo exhibition, Emami Art, Kolkata, India.
2019
‘Our Time for a Future Caring’, India Pavilion at the 58th La Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale), Italy.
‘Elements: Stuff that Matters’, Interactive exhibition, Science Gallery Bengaluru, India, Supported by Government of Karnataka, India.
Associate Director: ‘Thottappan’ Malayalam drama film Based on Francis Noronha's original story Thottapan.
2018
‘Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life’ curated by Anita Dube, 4th edition Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Project Designer: 'Burning' Non feature film- shows how patriarchy overshadows caste and class, but can cause its survivors to bond over its similarities.
2017
Post-Production Supervisor for 'Bhayanakam' (English: Fear), 65th National Award winning Malayalam–language Indian period drama film, India.
2016
‘forming in the pupil of an eye’ curated by Sudarshan Shetty, 3rd edition Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India.
2014
“Whorled Explorations” curated by Jitish Kallat, 2nd edition Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India.
2012
“India's First Biennale” curated by Bose Krishnamachari & Riyas Komu, 1st edition Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India.