India, Nov. 4 -- Starting November 27, Benares will host its first biennale through a series of visual art, textile and photography exhibitions, craft demonstrations, film screenings, and performances, among other events. The central theme of the month-long biennale, Kashi/Light: City as Sensorium, informs its three distinct exhibition strands - visual arts, textiles and the collection of Jnana Pravaha Centre for Cultural Studies and Research - with the aim of bringing historical collections and living practices in conversation with contemporary artistic thought.

Art critic and curator Gayatri Sinha has deployed works from the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum, located in the Banaras Hindu University, using pieces from its 100,000-object collect...