Ankit Jitendra Ravani

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Explorations will experiment with puppetry to create animated sculptures, automata and kinetic pieces, to explore the concept of 'looping' through themes from a children’s story. Ankit Jitendra Ravani is the Coordinator for this project. 

Ankit Jitendra Ravani is a visual artist and puppeteer, who did his MFA from Shiv Nadar University, Noida and a BVA from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. He has an eclectic artistic journey spanning contemporary arts, puppetry, and art pedagogy. He has facilitated workshops and educational modules across India, contributing to institutions like NID Haryana and Kochi Student’s Biennale. His artistic work includes a rich mix of shadow puppetry, visual arts, and illustration. He has collaborated with prominent art and puppetry organisations such as Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust. Ankit has been recognised with prestigious awards such as the Inlaks Fine Arts Award (2022). His work continues to gain traction, particularly in the domain of puppetry, where he has performed at major cultural venues like NMACC and KNMA. Given his experience, Ankit Jitendra Ravani is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

This project titled Play on Loop will explore the Project Coordinator's playful and experimental spirit, drawing inspiration from puppetry to create animated sculptures, automata, and kinetic pieces that explore the concept of ‘looping’. Influenced by repeat patterns, tessellations, and simple mechanisms, these pieces will echo themes from a play by the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust based on the Marathi children's book by Swati Raje titled Saau—the story of a child's battle to bring light and freedom back to her village. The project coordinator plans to extend the visual elements from Saau beyond the play, addressing contemporary social issues. He aims to depict relatable human experiences, such as synchronised actions and crowd behaviour, through kinetic gestures. These pieces will engage with themes of control, participation, and the cyclical nature of history. Drawing on Ankit’s interest in children's illustrations, this project will lead to further explorations in interactive, animated art.

The artistic process includes experimenting with various materials like GIFs, shadow puppetry, plywood sculptures, wearables, and pop-up cards to reflect on repetitive behaviours, akin to Sisyphean tasks. The project coordinator intends to develop rough models into experimental pieces such as automata, kinetic jewellery, or simple toys. The project will emphasise material exploration and idea generation that will be shared through an open studio for feedback. 

The outcome of the project will be a variety of visual and textual materials, including notes, plans, zines, sketches, maquettes, shadow puppets, and a public sharing of the work towards the end of the project. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the photographic and audio-visual documentation of the artistic process and the outcomes.   

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to bridge puppetry with the contemporary art practice, balancing seriousness and playfulness, by exploring socially relevant themes with children’s theatre.     

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 by convening an online gathering of artists coordinating Explorations projects. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.

This project is made possible with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund.