For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will look into the performances of women during the Mahila Kabir Yatra. The research will involve a feminist point of view to understand the performer's journey on stage and trace how the stage transforms an artist while looking at the sacrifices that a female artist has to undertake. It will also look at how the Kabir Vaani is transformed based on the gender of the artist and if these performative spaces are also acting as safe spaces for women. The outcome of this project will be a short documentary film of about 20-25 minutes. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the documentary film and audiovisual documentation from the field, including stories and songs of resistance. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, materials, and hire of equipment.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will explore two stories that run in opposing directions – the one of ascension of Siliguri with its progress as a town; and the other of loss, cultural disruption and continued deprivation of the river Teesta. Investigating this peculiar nexus, in which the geological changes of the river is the narrative of a town and its population, the project will attempt a fresh biography of both, exploring songs, dances, prayers, recipes and literary narratives of Siliguri and river Teesta and their meandering and conflicting histories. The outcomes of this project will be an essay in Bangla and English, audiovisual documentation from the field, and a digital archive. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the essay in Bangla and English, extensive audiovisual documentation, a link to the digital archive, and a download of the material of the digital archive in soft copy. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees, purchase of books, hire of equipment, printing, materials, library and archive fees, and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project titled DNT Children’s Lens implemented by IFA will engage a group of 40 students between sixth and eighth grade from denotified tribes Pardhi and Kanjar studying at Jeevan Shiksha Pahal, a school run by Muskaan in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh to document the oral histories, music and specific vocabulary of them through a series of multidisciplinary activities. The project attempts to foster a sense of identity among the children and prepare them to participate in mainstream deliberations. The outcome of the project will be three performances, a publication and a process document. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be photographs, the copies of the publication, the process document and video documentation of the entire project. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, publication, workshop, documentation, performance and library.
For an engagement with students and staff of Utkarsh Vidhyalaya, run by The Community Development Centre (CDC) in Balaghat, to explore learning possibilities by integrating community knowledge and the local Gondi and Baiga languages into classroom pedagogies. The primary purpose of this project is to explore the significance of language documentation and to emphasise the impact of early learning through one’s own language on the cognitive abilities of children. The outcomes of this project will be a multilingual dictionary, an exhibition and performances. The deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a copy of the dictionary, and photographs and video documentation of the exhibition and performances. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, workshop, publication, travel, documentation, stationery, communication and refreshments.
For the second phase of an Alternative Photography project that captures the socio-economic changes in Daniya village of Almora through dry plate Collodion photography. The photographs produced through this experimental process will be published as limited edition handmade albums, a coffee table book of scanned original photographs for wider circulation, a process documentation booklet and DVD.
For making a film on women potters, structured as a search for roots by a contemporary studio potter, and focussing on two traditional women potters in Kutch and Manipur. By exploring the ways in which the women have circumvented the taboos associated with the potter’s wheel, the film will foreground a dialogue between tradition and modernity.
For consolidation and dissemination of a clown theatre methodology. Training workshops for theatre groups in the Hindi-speaking belt will result in new productions, a theatre network and additional performance venues. Concurrent workshops will be held with undertrials and disadvantaged children.
For a series of workshops for children by theatre workers and traditional toy makers with the aim of reconnecting and contemporising the narrative and toy cultures of Malwa. The workshops will culminate in a toy festival, and the possibility of founding a permanent toy resource centre will be explored.
