For a foundation course in puppetry that seeks to train professional puppeteers in India. The course comes as the culmination of a series of workshops held with traditional and contemporary puppet masters over the past five years. Drawing upon and building on existing discourse around puppetry, this first-of-its-kind course seeks to create a pedagogic model that contextualises Indian puppetry traditions while offering an overview of puppetry from other parts of the world. The course will be implemented between October 2018 and April 2019. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be still and video documentation from the sessions, video documentation of the performances of the students, journals of the students, evaluation reports by facilitators and external evaluators, and a handbook on the course. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees, project coordinator’s fee, local conveyance, travel, material and an accountant’s fee.
For working with the cluster of three museums - Goa Chitra, Goa Chakra and Goa Cruti - which narrates the history of Goa through objects, texts and oral histories. This fellowship supports research that will unravel stories about 15 iconic objects from the museum’s collections. Using objects as the point of departure, the project attempts to make visible the many layers of narratives around them through engagements with a diverse range of people that includes experts in the field, artists, anthropologists and children. These stories hope to reveal not only the historic and contemporary significance of the objects but also the material, aesthetic and human histories around them. The outcome will be mobile exhibitions where select objects can be exhibited outside the museum space, gallery walks, children’s workshops, repair cafes, sound and light projections, performances, talks, and demonstrations by craftspersons. The Fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process images, audio recordings, texts and publication, if any.
For working with the cluster of three museums - Goa Chitra, Goa Chakra and Goa Cruti - which narrates the history of Goa through objects, texts and oral histories. This fellowship supports research that will document, disseminate and make accessible, knowledge about objects in the collections through digital and immersive media. Mobile applications created around the collection attempt to not only extend the reach of the museum, but also engage and educate a younger generation steeped in technology and social media. The outcome will be augmented reality workshops, mobile apps and an exhibition of the content created during the workshops. The Fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process images, audio recordings, images of the exhibition, the apps and a publication, if any.
For the creation of an experimental film that explores the lives of a group of performers of the Chhau form from Purulia, West Bengal, going beyond their much studied practice of using elaborate masks in their performances. The project attempts to study their transformation into mythical characters for the performance as well as trace the shifts and changes in the dance form in recent times. Evocative and slow in nature, the film will be an experiment in cinematic storytelling through folk narratives. The outcome will be a film. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the film, final script, rush footage, production notes and stills. Grant funds will pay for an honorarium, equipment hire, professional fees, production and post-production costs and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a mixed-media animation film based on an essay by Steven B Gerrard, titled Wittgenstein Plays Chess with Duchamp or How Not to Do Philosophy: Wittgenstein on Mistakes of Surface and Depth. The project attempts to push the boundaries of cinema by juxtaposing it with ideas from philosophy, visual art, chess, mathematics, geometry, linguistics and psychology. The outcome will be a 15-minute animation film.The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the film, process documentation stills and photo-documentation of the artworks created for the animation. Grant funds will pay for an honorarium, equipment and software hire, professional fees, art materials, travel, research and permissions and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a feature length fiction film titled Lorni—The Flaneur. The project attempts to question the formation of Khasi identity, challenges the aesthetics and language of mainstream commercial cinema and poses an alternative to the industrial model of revenue in favour of indigenous experimental filmmakers. The outcome will be a film. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the film, a music video, final script, scanned soft copies of story boards, rush footage, productions stills and publicity material. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, post-production, professional fees, sound mixing, publicity and material, studio hire, and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of an experimental video art piece to be included in an installation. Drawing from experiences of women from Kerala in the nuptial chamber, the video will try to address the psychic significance of the ‘wedding night’ in their lives. It will push the boundaries between the academic and artistic realms of cinema, art and psychology. The outcome will be a 15-to-20-minute experimental video. The deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the video, rush footage, production stills, art works, interviews generated as part of the project and media reports. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees, hire of studio and equipment, travel, materials and publicity, refreshments, and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a play based on Russian playwright Yevgeny Schwarz’s The Dragon, in multiple spoken Hindi languages. The play examines notions of human agency, gender, power, narrative, love and collective action in the context of self-determination and the individual’s relationship with the world. It is designed as a lightweight, durable and cost-effective mobile spectacle aimed at Hindi-speaking audiences. The outcome will be a performance. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be a translated script, a PDF document of the rehearsal process, publicity material, a media dossier and video recording of the performance. Grant funds will pay for costs towards professional fees, lights, music, costumes and material, equipment hire, refreshments, travel, documentation and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of arts-based experiential learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School, in Papemajalu village in Dakshina Kannada district. In this project, mathematics will be taught by using theatre techniques and the popular regional form of Yakshagana-Talamaddale. Theatre scripts and riddles will be built around concepts and themes in mathematics. The outcome will be a stage performance in the presence of teachers and community members. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will include photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards professional fees, material, performance, resource persons’ fees, refreshment, documentation, travel, printing, and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of arts-based experiential learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School in Aaladahalli village in Shivamogga district. The project will involve students across classes in various visual and theatrical activities centred on the lakes in and around the region. The students will also map these lakes. The outcome will be a series of performances and a group discussion titled Beladingalalli Kereyangaladi (Activities around the lake on a full moon night). The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will include photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees, documentation, exhibition and performance, material, preparation, and an accountant’s fee.
For a wide-ranging engagement with students of the Government Kannada Boys Modern School in Kunigal taluk near Tumakuru district to develop a theatre script by exploring the history of their 88-year-old school which brought education to the region. The students will collate stories about the school from alumni, teachers and community members, and also be introduced to the folk dance form Kolata which they will explore through texts in their syllabus. The outcome will be a performance. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, performance, professional fees, documentation, travel, printing, workshop, and an accountant’s fee.
This Grant was Terminated by IFA and the Grantee is ineligible to apply to IFA in the future.
For a wide-ranging engagement with eighth grade students of the Government Higher Primary School near Kuvempunagar in Mysuru district to learn playback theatre and its applications through texts in their syllabus. Students will be exposed to this interactive and improvisational form of theatre that will enable them to build arguments and dialogues around various themes and ideas. The outcome will be a series of performances. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, workshop, professional fees, performance, documentation, travel, and an accountant’s fee.
For a wide-ranging engagement with fourth to seventh grade students of the Government Higher Primary School in Dindaguru village in Hassan district with a local folk art form Somana Kunitha – a ritualistic masked dance, prevalent in this region. The students will train in this form through workshops and apply it in the texts in their curriculum. The outcome will be a performance in the presence of school staff and community members. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, performance, professional, workshop, travel, documentation and an accountant’s fee.
For a wide-ranging engagement with eighth grade students of the Government High School (PUC Section) at Akkihebbalu village in Mandya district to learn the concepts and applications of intimate theatre to develop metamorphic stories based on texts from their curriculum. The outcome will be a performance and interactive sessions with students and community members. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees, travel, performance, workshop, documentation and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of arts-based, exploratory learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School in Gumballi village in Chamarajanagar district, where the students, teachers and the local community become co-learners. The project will bring together three schools of a cluster and engage with students of the eighth grade with two art forms – theatre and puppetry. There will be an attempt to understand the dialogic relationship between these art forms and bring that sensibility into classroom learning through their curriculum. The outcome will be a series of performances. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be still and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, material, workshop, professional fees, performance, refreshments, documentation, travel, and an accountant’s fee.
