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Month-long cultural extravaganza from November 27 to December 31; CII-BHU partnership aims to connect heritage, creativity, education, industry and youth opportunities
Pooja Srivastava
Anytime News Network
The historic city of Banaras is set to take centre stage in India’s cultural landscape with the launch of the first edition of the CII Banaras Biennale 2026, a month-long celebration aimed at positioning the city as a global hub for culture, creativity, heritage and civilisational dialogue.
Scheduled from November 27 to December 31, 2026, the Biennale will follow the theme “KASHI / LIGHT – City as Sensorium”, transforming the city into a vast cultural platform.
The programme will bring together visual arts, textiles and crafts, music, heritage experiences, scholarly dialogues, culinary activities and the first-ever Banaras Film Festival.
CII-BHU Partnership
A significant step towards strengthening the initiative was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between CII and Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The partnership seeks to bring academia, industry and the cultural ecosystem closer while creating new opportunities for students and young creative talent.
BHU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi highlighted the university’s role in connecting knowledge, tradition and contemporary thought. BHU will support academic participation, student engagement and public programmes associated with the Biennale.
Heritage Meets Entrepreneurship
The Biennale’s Steering Committee is headed by Madhav Singhania, Joint Managing Director and CEO, JK Cement Limited. He described the initiative as an opportunity to showcase India’s living civilisation while creating pathways for young people towards industry, skills, employment and entrepreneurship.
Through its Education 2 Employment & Enterprise (E2EE) initiative, CII is also establishing technology-enabled Career Lounges at universities. With 32 lounges already operational, CII plans to expand the network to 100, targeting more than five lakh students every year through career counselling, internships, apprenticeships, placement support, job fairs and entrepreneurship guidance.
Tarana Sawhney, Chairperson, CII National Committee on Art & Culture, emphasised the importance of creating dialogue between traditional artistic practices and contemporary perspectives.
Key venues will include Banaras Hindu University, Bharat Kala Bhawan and Jnana Pravaha, along with other cultural and public spaces across the city. The curatorial team includes Gayatri Sinha, Pramod Kumar KG and Dr. Anjan Chakraborty.
The initiative will also promote programmes such as the Artisan Development & Design Centre, Model Career Centre, Education to Employment Lounge and Varanasi Healthy Weavers Initiative, aimed at strengthening livelihoods, skills and community development.
CII envisions the Banaras Biennale as more than a cultural event. It seeks to build a long-term national cultural institution connecting India’s living heritage with tourism, education, employment, innovation and the creative economy.
News Board
Banaras Biennale • Heritage • Culture • Art • Tourism • Youth • Employment • Entrepreneurship
