For the creation of a theatrical performance that will look at death and mourning in the age of the internet, through the particular lens of queer communities online. Based on testimonials, the performance will involve an ensemble of five actors. It will be interactive and devised, using text, movement and spatial design. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a still and video documentation of the rehearsals and video documentation of the final performance. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, purchase of software, rehearsals and properties, and venue hire.
For working with the Barpeta District Museum in Assam, which was established in 1987 and houses more than 450 artefacts including a number of objects from the satras – the neo-vaishnavite monasteries that also served as important sociocultural centres for the Assamese society. This fellowship supports research that will lead to a permanent exhibition at the Barpeta District Museum. The outcome will be an inventory of the objects in the collection, a catalogue with brief descriptions, and a permanent exhibition that will be designed and curated to showcase the objects in an engaging and informative manner. The Fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process images, images of the exhibition, texts and publication, if any.
For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region. This fellowship to Desire Machine Collective supports the creation of a new discourse around the museum and its collection. The project aims to ‘de-colonise’ the cultural memory in the museum and open up the space for popular and indigenous knowledges, re-imagining Assam both in its geographical and historical construct, as a link that connects South with Southeast Asia. The outcome will be a series of events around objects from the entire collection in the museum throughout the year including artistic interventions, installations, exhibitions, workshops, presentations, talks and video screenings.
For research into four performative practices of the Char-Chapori Muslims of lower Assam namely, Lathibari, Naukhela, Gasshi Rati and Kobi Bayati. The project aims to explore the history of these cultural practices in the light of historical, political and religious pressures that have often questioned their legitimacy in the region. The outcome of the grant will be a set of four films.
For a physical theatre performance piece towards creating a personal vocabulary of movement and theatre. Based on impressions of the social, cultural and spiritual life on the river island Majuli in Assam, the performance through the medium of physical theatre will bring together movement, voice, image, light, costume and set design to evoke the spirit of the island.
For a three-month workshop to enable four young theatre directors from Assam to develop productions that critically engage with the socio-political changes and cultural diversity of the region. The directors and their team members will tour together to present the newly created work in their respective home towns and share their theatre-making experience with local audiences.
For the production of a series of films and the curation of workshops and screenings through which a group of ten to fifteen young filmmakers will be trained to create site-specific moving image content. The objective is to generate audio-visual imagery that explores the cinematic form and engages the cultural, political and historical context of Assam from a location grounded within the region, dispelling the prevalent myth of the Northeast as peripheral within a national context.
For research towards the construction of a raft-like structure in collaboration with bamboo artisans and boat-builders in Guwahati and the curation of a journey on the Brahmaputra, during which the raft will function as a mobile, habitable receptacle to gather, share and document stories, songs and local knowledge about food and ecology.
For a three-month workshop to enable six young theatre directors from Assam to develop productions that critically engage with socio-political changes and cultural diversity in the region. Following this, the directors and their teams will tour to present the newly created performances in their respective hometowns and share their theatre-making experience with local audiences.
For completing the photographic documentation of manuscript paintings held in Vaishnavite monasteries and private collections in Assam. A digital catalogue of scanned paintings will be made available to users through the Assam State Museum, Guwahati.
