Srajana Jayant Kaikini

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will explore the intellectual histories of Pune by investigating the intersections of the world of visual arts with the rich legacy of literature, cinema, theatre, musical practices and histories of social reforms of Pune. Through selected objects from the collection of Zapurza Museum of Art and Culture (ZMAC) in Pune, Maharashtra the project will research the intellectual histories of the Bombay-Poona belt of 19th and 20th century in dialogue with early years of post-independence. ZMAC, situated on the banks of Khadakwasla Dam in Pune, Maharashtra, is a not-for-profit art initiative under PN Gadgil Art and Culture Foundation led by Mr Ajit Gadgil. Borne out of Mr Gadgil’s personal collection, ZMAC has objects ranging from rare pieces of jewellery, paintings by traditional and contemporary artists, textiles, lithograph prints by Raja Ravi Varma, a collection of miniature paintings, and various kinds of manuscripts, everyday objects and a diverse range of ephemera. Srajana Jayant Kaikini is the Project Coordinator for this project.

Srajana Jayant Kaikini is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Division of Literature and Arts & Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, SIAS Krea University. She holds a PhD in Philosophy, Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities, MAHE and a Masters in Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Srajana has considerable experience in teaching, artistic research and curatorial practices. In the past, she has researched, curated, written on varied interdisciplinary archives that included the Archives at NCBS, the Adyar Archives in Chennai and the KK Hebbar Archives in Manipal. In the recent past she has engaged in curatorial projects with works of Akbar Padamsee and Jogen Chowdhury for institutions in Mumbai. Srajana has a deep and sustained interest in the ways in which literature and the arts speak to each other in form, design, and ideas across cultural belts which are demonstrated in her earlier curatorial work Mukhaputa (2017). Given her longstanding interest and experience in research and curatorial practices, Srajana is best suited to be the Project Coordinator for this Foundation Project implemented by IFA.

By studying the collection at ZMAC, this Foundation Project will research the histories and narratives of the intellectual history of Bombay and Pune of 19th and 20th century. The Project Coordinator will situate the museum and its collection within the larger context of the history of Pune which has a longstanding presence of scholarly archives such as the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and the Savitri Bai Phule University; institutions like Film and Television Institute of India and the National Film Archive of India and a rich visual arts legacy. Working with the collection of Pune’s visual arts legacy at ZMAC, Srajana will explore the literature and philosophy of artistic movements taking place in Pune and around it, to explore the idea of ‘avant-garde’ and what it meant for the cultural moment in Pune and the manners in which it intersected with its pre-modern, and modern historical inheritance. Keeping in mind the programmatic impulse of the Archives and Museums programme, the Project Coordinator will also design a series of lectures and public programming in collaboration with the museums and various other arts platforms and organisations. 

Srajana has divided the one year of project term in to six phases starting with – initial research and gathering of materials, followed by exploring collections at other archival repositories and institutions. This phase will be crucial for the Project Coordinator to develop the research questions for the scholarly essays in tandem with the preparation of an annotated catalogue on the selected objects from the museum. The last phases will be dedicated to writing of the essays, designing and execution of the public programmes.

The outcomes of this project will be the draft of research publication/s, a series of public lectures and programming and an extended curatorial catalogue created around the selected objects for online interface and social media.

The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the draft of research publication/s, the illustrated catalogue, the proceedings and audio-visual recordings of the public lecture and programming and the curatorial catalogue.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.