Request for Proposals: Explorations | Deadline: July 07, 2023 (CLOSED)

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) invites applications for
Explorations
Under its Arts Practice programme

Deadline: Friday, July 07, 2023

The Arts Practice programme seeks to implement projects where artists expand their present range of practices in new directions. These could question accepted conventions, push new frontiers in content, form and medium, explore new modes of engagement with space, audience and communities, foregrounding a spirit of experimentation.

A pair of sound artists dissect, classify, splice and stitch the anatomy of a protest song
A storyteller treks high mountains to converse with mycelium
A choreographer collaborates with his community to create a ‘folk dance’ as a way of recovering folktales
A micro fiction-writer uses her voice to reach people in a language they understand but cannot read

As artists, we sometimes stumble upon an idea or feel an urge to venture into a direction that is new and exciting. However, given the context and location of our practice, the foray into these ideas may seem tentative and uncertain. We might at the time know nothing about where it will lead us. Even so, we realise the necessity of following through. A little support at these times may be of help. 

Under the Arts Practice programme, we invite proposals for such Explorations that seek to probe, test and play around with ideas nascent, risky or unprecedented. These may not necessarily lead to an outcome. Such explorations could include researching, script-writing, location scouting, animatics, jamming, storyboarding, rehearsing, sampling, robotics, lab explorations and other forms of exploratory work that are used to examine ideas.

To read translations of this Request for Proposals in other Indian languages, click here.

Programme Officer John Xaviers invites applications
under the Explorations category ​of the Arts Practice programme

Duration of the project: Up to six months

Budget: Up to a maximum of Rs 75,000/-

Deadline: July 07, 2023

Who can apply?

We invite proposals from practitioners working within as well as across disciplines. These could include:

  • Performing artists working in music, sound, text, dance, movement, theatre, puppetry, storytelling, magic, circus and other performance arts
  • Visual artists working across all forms including film (documentary and fiction), animation, photography, installation, new media, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, interactive arts, gaming, painting, sculpture, printmaking, comic book, graphic narrative, artist book and other visual arts
  • Curators, especially those working outside of the gallery context
  • Poets, novelists, playwrights working with literary arts
  • Practitioners engaged in interdisciplinary work

Eligibility:

You are eligible to send project proposals if you are an Indian national. Your collaborators too must be Indian nationals. For details, please click here.

Proposal Submission:

You can write your proposal in any Indian language including English. IFA encourages projects in Indian languages other than English.

Send us your application with the following:

  • Your existing arts practice, concerns and interests as a practitioner
  • Details of the Exploration you want to pursue and the reason why
  • Detailed timeline and budget
  • Examples of earlier work
  • Your CV with address, phone number and email ID
  • You can send us your queries and draft ideas in written, audio or video formats for response from IFA staff till June 23, 2023. 
  • Send your final application in a single email not more than 25 MB to John Xaviers, Programme Officer, Arts Practice at john@indiaifa.org with the Subject Line: Project Proposal for Explorations (Arts Practice) on or before Friday, July 07, 2023.

For any queries and clarifications regarding your proposal, please write to john@indiaifa.org

Selection Process:

Shortlisted proposals will be evaluated by an external panel and applicants will be required to present their project ideas to the panel. Projects selected for implementation will be announced in September 2023. 

All selected projects will be implemented by IFA.

Please note that IFA is committed to creating a safe environment that supports, respects, and protects everyone, including children. The applicant must be aligned with this and must uphold it at all times.

The Arts Practice programme is made possible with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund.