This grant supports research that will critically examine the transmuted Loknatya form developed by Dalit writer, playwright, performer and activist Lok-Shaheer Anna Bhau Sathe during the 1940s to the 60s. Tracing the history and evolution of the form, this project will enquire into Loknatya’s legacy, and its strengths and limitations as a tool for political and cultural activism. It will probe into the reasons behind its marginalisation as well as explore the ways in which it inspired many theatre and student movements including other Shaheers after Anna Bhau. The outcome of this project will be a script for a documentary film. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be audiovisual documentation of interviews with artists and experts from the field and the final script for the documentary film. Grant funds will pay for travel, food and living costs, honorarium, equipment rental, books and stationery, professional fee, internet and phone bills and an accountant’s fee.
For research on the feminist interpretation of Oppana, a song-and-dance form practised by Muslim women in Kerala. The project will examine the presence of male fantasies and male-centric narratives in the songs of Oppana that reinforce the patriarchal notions about women in everyday life. It will also explore how different Islamic factions have influenced the acceptance of Oppana among Muslim communities in Kerala, and the ways in which a folk practice has become a popular art form. The outcome of this project will be an essay in Malayalam. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be an essay and audiovisual documentation of the Oppana performances. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fee, books, stationery and DVDs, and an accountant’s fee.
This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.
For an artistic and scholarly inquiry into the history of publishing in Darjeeling, with a focus on Nepali publications. Drawing on an earlier project supported by IFA that studied the design and editing practices of Bengali Little Magazines in the digital age, this dissemination grant seeks to cover the gap of scholarship in the nearly 100-year-old history of publishing in Nepali in West Bengal. The outcomes of the project will be an exhibition, a panel discussion and the publication of a booklet. Grant funds will pay for travel and living, honorarium, exhibition costs, professional fees, publication costs, material and stationery and an accountant’s fee.
For an engagement with the students and staff of the Vanavil School run by the Vanavil Trust in Keezhakaraiyiruppu village near Nagapattinam,Tamilnadu, to explore learning possibilities by integrating community knowledge and local art practices into classroom pedagogies. The primary purpose of this project is to enable year-long activities to encourage students to bring their lived experiences, identity and the cultural practices of their communities into the classroom. The outcomes of the project include an art integrated pedagogical activity book, audio recordings of the community songs of the Boom Boom Maatukarar people, an exhibition and performances. The deliverables from the project to IFA along with the final report will be a copy of the publication, photographs, audio recordings and video documentation of the entire project. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, travel and living expenses, performance, publication, honorarium, materials, equipment rental, workshop and documentation.
For the creation of a feature-length film to build a narrative image of the Mughal princess Zeb-un-Nissa, daughter of Aurangzeb, through her poetry, her depiction in Mughal miniatures, and the issues around the Deccan palace where she lived for some time — its current state and the need for its preservation in an increasingly polarised political environment. The film will record alternative accounts of history before they are obliterated forever and situate Zeb-un-Nissa’s poetry in the current environment of neglect, loss, and selective amnesia. The outcome of this project will be the film. The Grantee’s deliverable to IFA with the final reports will be the film and audiovisual documentation of interviews with historians as well as the English translation of Zeb-un-Nissa’s poems. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fees, equipment rental, and an accountant’s fee.
For the making of a film that will look into the lives of four vocal artists in Mizoram and Meghalaya, who are associated with the congregational and other types of choral traditions. Foregrounding ethnicities, gender, sexuality, citizenship, belief, friendship and art, the film will map their personal journeys vis-à-vis the ritualistic and performative elements of faith and the distinct expressivity of their creative processes. The outcome of this project will be a film. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will also be the film. Grant funds will pay for travel, food and living costs, professional fees, equipment rental, and an accountant’s fee.
For an exploration of the inscribed plaques in temples built in West Bengal between 16th and 19th centuries. The project will focus on the names of the artisans on the plaques and trace their social, cultural, religious, and economic histories. The outcome of this project will be an essay and a set of small exhibitions held in four districts of West Bengal. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be an essay, photographs from the exhibitions and photographs and documentation of two hundred temples across West Bengal. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, exhibition costs, professional fee, documentation, books and an accountant’s fee.
For research into the community kitchen and the history of culinary engagements of 1Shanthiroad, a studio and artists’ space based in Bangalore. By collecting recipes from artists, residents, staff, patrons, and the extended family of the space, and interviewing key figures from its history, the project will frame the kitchen and food as integral to the site and function of the space as a collective. Screenings, lectures, cooking classes, potluck dinners etc will act as triggers to activate and expand the research enquiries. The outcome of this project will be a cookbook and an open archive of materials, resources, references and audiovisual documentation. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the cookbook and audiovisual documentation of workshops, exhibitions and interviews with the resource people. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, local travel, exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, professional fee, equipment rental, design, printing, books and stationery purchase and an accountant’s fee.
For research on the significance of artist-designer Riten Mozumdar’s life and work while exploring areas of undocumented cultural, political and institutional histories between the 1950s and 1970s. By analysing Mozumdar’s work within its economic and cultural contexts and situating his practice within Nehruvian socialistic aesthetics of the newly-independent nation, this project will attempt to address the lack of scholarship on the history of modern Indian design. The outcome of this project will be an essay on Riten Mozumdar. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the essay, extensive visual documentation, audiovisual interviews with experts from the field and an archival presentation on Riten Mozumdar’s life and work. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fee, equipment rental, scanning and photocopying costs, library and archive fees, and an accountant’s fee.
For research on Cham, a Tibetan Buddhist ritual, at the monasteries of Kye in the upper Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, and Diskit in the Nubra Valley in Ladakh. Through a comparative study of the histories, sites, contemporary performances and material culture of the Cham, this project aims to unpack the notions of ‘tradition’ and ‘authenticity’ to understand the making of and the relationships between religious, cultural and political identities. The outcome of this project will be comprehensive photographic documentation and a series of essays on the transformations impacting the form and function of the Cham. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be a series of essays and photographic documentation. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fees, books, stationery and photocopying, internet, phone bills and SD cards and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of gaming interventions as a theatrical strategy to examine and reimagine the issues related to the urban commons in Bangalore, with a specific focus on lakes, in the face of rapid and brutal development. Using the tools and elements from Live Action Role Playing games (LARP), participatory art, and storytelling, the audience will be invited to take on roles to play the game. The outcome of the project will be this interactive game theatre performance played over ten engagements in the Sarjapur/ Bellandur neighbourhoods. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a detailed textual illustrated document outlining the game design process, interview records and transcripts, and photographic and video documentation of game-testing, final production, and the subsequent ten engagements with audience. Grant funds will pay for game productions,professional fees, fabrication costs, honorarium, travel and conveyance, printing, materials, books, venue, refreshments and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules for eighth-grade students of the Government PU College (High School division), Sullia, Dakshina Kannada district. The project will involve students in exploring and documenting the community ritual practice of Bhutaradhane and its literary component the Pardanas, which represent the cultural identity of the Tuluva community. The outcomes of the project will be a publication and a performance. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a copy of the publication, photographs, and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, printing, professional fees, performance, workshop, documentation, materials and an accountant’s fee.
This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.
For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School, Harappanahalli in Bellary district. The project will engage fifth and sixth grade students in theatrical activities to explore the lakes and document the traditional systems of water management that were constructed during the time of Raja Somashekara Nayaka in and around the region. The outcome of the project will be a Doddata performance. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel and living, materials, performance, workshop, professional fees, documentation and an accountant’s fee.
This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.
For a series of curated artistic engagements in Bangalore which will explore the different aspects of the city through the experiences of its various inhabitants. The events will include an art exhibition on the city, a comic zine-making workshop, a contemporary retake on Bangalore picture postcards, a city mapping project, an event of children drawing their favourite trees in the city, a photography project of portraits of the city-dwellers, a walk in a garden with a botanist and a curatorial mentoring for an exhibition of a landscape artist in the city. The outcomes of the project will be art exhibitions, comic books, postcards, maps, drawings, photographic portraits and a guide on trees. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a detailed textual and illustrated document of the curatorial process and outcomes, photo and video documentation of the events, comics, maps, botanical guides and exhibition catalogues. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, materials, space hire and other rentals, design and printing, refreshment and workshop expenses, documentation costs and transport.
For a photography-based exploration of the phenomenon of ‘Random Amit’ in Bangalore, which reinforces the stereotype of the brash North Indian male who has migrated into the city. Using the medium of photography and text, propagated in a participatory mode through social media and offline encounters, the project will interrogate the popular, humorous and pejorative nickname Amit. It will explore the subjects’ sense of inhabiting this idea of a monolithic, homogeneous North Indian identity in a fast-changing Bangalore. The outcome of the project will be a photo exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the photographs and texts from the exhibition, still and video documentation of the exhibition, the crowd-sourced materials, and recordings of the interviews. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, printing, equipment hire, local conveyance, professional fees, venue hire, exhibition costs, stationery and materials, software purchase and an accountant’s fee.
This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.
