Staying Connected #17 | When The IFA Initiative '25x25' Went Live | April 20, 2021
What do you see the Internet as? A space for unrestraint fun? A secret garden to connect with people from all over the world? An eternal source of wisdom? A scary tunnel? Or is it something else?
At India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), we launched the 25x25 initiative last year, to mark our 25th anniversary of grantmaking and the 25-year long history of the Internet in India. Bringing both these ideas together, we sent out a call for proposals under the theme 25 Years of Internet in India which saw an overwhelming response from the field. Out of the 129 proposals received, we made 25 grants of Rs 25,000 each. These projects culminated in a two-day festival titled 25x25 GOING LIVE! on February 27 and 28, 2021.
Today, under the Staying Connected Series, we are delighted to bring you a wide variety of exciting outcomes and conversations from this festival, covering a wide range of subjects around our relationships with the Internet and its complexities. These include romance, surveillance, connectivity, privacy, online education, sexuality, safe spaces as well as fear, intimidation and control.
Off On-Line by Bhumika Ahuja
A stop motion film that explores the history of social media in India over the past 25 years through embroidery on textile.
View the work here
Love in the Time of Internet by Ritwika Pal
A short film about love and the internet.
View the work here
Emails and the Amnesiac Life by Deb Kamal Ganguly
A creative essay that traces human journeys through its digital footprints over the years.
Deb Kamal Ganguly in conversation with Krishna Murthy TN – Click here to view on YouTube
You Are Offline by Sandhya Kumar
Three short videos that explore the impact of internet shutdowns and throttling, across different regions in India.
View the work here
Sandhya Kumar in conversation with Sumana Chandrashekar – Click here to view on YouTube
Take A Picture by Kaamna Patel
A virtual experience that explores the notions of nostalgia, temporality, hyperreality and alienation in the age of technology and the internet.
View the work here
Kaamna Patel in conversation with Sumana Chandrashekar – Click here to view on YouTube
Becoming Invisible by Sanskriti Chattopadhyay
A video art project that seeks to explore digital consciousness.
View the work here
Sanskriti Chattopadhyay in conversation with Suman Gopinath – Click here to view on YouTube
Cyberia by Shruti Chamaria
A photo documentation of the abandoned, ignored, and almost invisible infrastructure of cybercafés in Bangalore.
Shruti Chamaria in conversation with Krishna Murthy TN – Click here to view on YouTube
S(t)imulating Desire by Sukanya Deb
A hypertext poetry/ fiction based on an exploration of the place of pornography and erotic imagery in India from the past to contemporary times.
View the work here
Sukanya Deb in conversation with Sumana Chandrashekar – Click here to view on YouTube
Dry Ice by Vikram Phukan
Excerpts from an upcoming theatrical performance that looks at death and mourning in the age of the internet, through the particular lens of queer communities online.
View the work here
Our Midnight Song by Shruthi Vishwanath
Live and pre-recorded performances, conversations, and feminist readings of rural and urban womxn artists who inhabited the cyberspace at midnight for 25 nights.
View the work here
Shruthi Vishwanath in conversation with Darshana Dave – Click here to view on YouTube
Mam aapki aawaaz ni aa ri ('Maam we cannot hear you') by Sahil Ahuja
A short film that explores the impact on education and shifts in the lives and work of teachers, who are compelled to use digital technology and the internet to teach during the pandemic.
View the work here
Sahil Ahuja in conversation with Krishna Murthy TN – Click here to view on YouTube
25 Years of Internet in India: A Comic by CG Salamander & Samidha Gunjal by Andrew Prashanth aka CG Salamander
A 25 panel non-fiction comic on the evolution of the internet in India.
View the work here
Andrew Prashanth aka CG Salamander in conversation with John Xaviers – Click here to view on YouTube
Intertwined by Khayal Ajaybhai Trivedi
An animated website that explores the complex and multi-dimensional relationship we have with the internet.
Khayal Ajaybhai Trivedi and team speak about their work – Click here to view on YouTube
The Aesthetics of Nandan Flat-Formalism by Abhishek Hazra
A video lecture performance that speculates the future of artistic sovereignty, amidst threats to digital privacy in the age of surveillance statecraft.
View the work here
Abhishek Hazra in conversation with John Xaviers – Click here to view on YouTube
Anima by Rustam Mazumdar
An audio-visual medley of montages on the ways in which the internet perpetuates and enhances the contexts that cause violent behaviour.
View the work here
Rustam Mazumdar in conversation with Darshana Dave – Click here to view on YouTube
Right Swipes For...? by Subuhi Jiwani
Short films exploring urban India’s engagement and experience with online dating apps.
View the work here and here
Subuhi Jiwani in conversation with Menaka Rodriguez – Click here to view on YouTube
Tales of 25 by Shakti Milan Sharma
A zine that explores aspects of sexuality on the internet, through the erotic lives and experiences of people online.
Shakti Milan Sharma in conversation with John Xaviers – Click here to view on YouTube
ASL pls by Vinay Abhishek Vemu
An audio play that relives the moments of accessing internet cafes for the first time 25 years ago.
View the work here
Vinay Abhishek Vemu in conversation with John Xaviers – Click here to view on YouTube
Sharif by Soumendra Bhattacharya
An experimental mixed media audio-visual presentation that explores the physical and emotional isolation of people in a world hyper-connected through technology.
Soumendra Bhattacharya in conversation with Suman Gopinath – Click here to view on YouTube
Unmuted: A digital dilemma by Vandana Kumari Pandey aka Vandana Asha
A film that examines the issues of increased online harassment against women in India.
View the work here and here
Vandana Kumari Pandey aka Vandana Asha in conversation with Darshana Dave – Click here to view on YouTube
eDevi by Anandana Kapur
An exploration of trans-human and cyborg identities through the creation of an e-Devi - the Goddess of faster internet connections and better download speeds - and a portal with the rituals for online darshans by devotees.
Anandana Kapur in conversation with Suman Gopinath – Click here to view on YouTube
Watching You, Watching Me by Aishwarya Guha aka Oishorjyo
A series of audio essays based on 25 stories of women, who have used the internet to flip the power structure and reverse the gaze.
Aishwarya Guha aka Oishorjyo in conversation with Suman Gopinath – Click here to view on YouTube
Dear Internet: A collection of unsent letters by Matta Sri Vamsi
A publication that captures various stories of people from marginalised communities, as shared on the internet.
View the work here
Matta Sri Vamsi in conversation with Krishna Murthy TN – Click here to view on YouTube
Abyss by Joe Paul Cyriac
A series of tricolour gum dichromate prints and sculptures by appropriating images collected from panoramas of India uploaded by Google Street contributors.
View the work here
Joe Paul Cyriac in conversation with John Xaviers – Click here to view on YouTube
Stages of Grief by Amoolya Narayan
A dystopian science fiction tale exploring the human relationship with the internet and the possible impact of its absence.
View the work here and here
Amoolya Narayan in conversation with Menaka Rodriguez – Click here to view on YouTube
25x25 is supported by our lead donor Kshirsagar-Apte Foundation, and philanthropy partners Titan Company Limited and Priya Paul and Sethu Vaidyanathan. We are deeply grateful to them for their support, especially in these difficult times. Without them, this initiative would have just remained a dream of the IFA team.