Komal Jain

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will develop a physical exhibition tentatively titled Queering Public Health Messaging, a series of associated programmes on public health messaging of queer-trans community, and a resource bank for drawing from the materials available at the Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection and Activism (QAMRA) at the National Law School of India University, (NLSIU) Bengaluru. The exhibition will be designed primarily drawing from three main collections available at the QAMRA archives: the Sangama collection, the Maya Sharma and Indra Pathak collection and T Jayashree collection. However, to understand the larger universe of existing public health messaging the Project Coordinator also aims to refer to other collections, such as the Wellcome Collection and the archives of community health centres across India. The project is collaboration with QAMRA, a multimedia archival project situated within the library of the NLSIU, which chronicles and preserves the stories of communities marginalised on the basis of gender and sexuality in India. Komal Jain is the Project Coordinator for this project.

Komal Jain is a researcher, artist and designer based in Bangalore. They are a graduate from the National Institute of Design, specialising in exhibition and spatial design. Their work is at the intersection of research, nature and culture primarily focusing on human and planetary health. They have previously worked with the Science Gallery, Bangalore as a design associate. In addition, Komal has assisted public engagement experts to develop and facilitate workshops on public health messaging. Given their experiences, Komal is best suited to be the Project Coordinator for this Foundation Project of IFA.

The exhibition will be speaking to three intersecting themes. The first theme will look at the representation of queer-trans people in sexual and reproductive health messaging by analysing the target audience and exploring their portrayal and communication methodologies. As a second theme, it will explore the impact of such health campaigns on the lived experiences of queer-trans people. For the third element of the exhibition, the project will research how public health messaging has rendered on social media and analyse the type of messaging and its reach, in a similar manner as that of physical modes of communication. In order to aid the research towards the exhibition, there will be a series of public programmes targetted at different demographics of audience in alignment with the vision of the project. Some of these programmes will be directly with public health experts to figure out the reasons behind the existing lacunae in the system of public health messaging and to bring out research-driven knowledge about public health. Moreover, in order to explore other ideas around documentation, communication and public awareness Komal will conduct public sessions to discuss the values and approach to inclusive public health messaging and develop DIY messaging based on the same. Apart from that, public programmes will be curated at various points, inviting members from the queer-trans community, young adults and healthcare professionals to study communication materials and to create better public health messaging system for the future. 

The project has been divided into six phases starting with studying archival research and developing content for the exhibition followed by development of curatorial vision. Simultaneously, outreach programmes findings will be collated to make its way to the finalisation of design and content for the exhibition. The final phase of the project will be the installation of the exhibition and archiving the outcomes for reporting. 

The outcomes for the project will be the physical exhibition tentatively titled Queering Public Health Messaging, a series of programmes on public health messaging of queer-trans community, and a resource bank of inclusive healthcare and communication system in Bangalore.  

The Project Coordinator’s deliverables along with the final reports will be the research, catalogue and communications materials from the exhibition and the recordings and photographs from the public engagements along with the queer-friendly resource bank for healthcare. 

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.