For support towards sixth grade students from the Government Higher Primary School, Kolcharu, Sullia Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District to explore texts from the school syllabus and interpreting it through theater plays in Kannada and English Language. The outcome will be a stage performance which will be presented at two to three school venues in the neighbourhood. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will include photographs from the workshops, and audio video recording of the performance. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, workshop costs, performance costs, professional fees, documentation costs, and an accountant’s fee.
For a wide-ranging engagement with 18 students of the Government Lower Primary School, Yelagudige, Chikkamagalur Taluk, Chikkamagalur District, to introduce them to Kolata and Kasuti Kale—two art forms of the Banjara community. The children will learn to relate and connect these forms with their curriculum subjects, primarily Mathematics and Science. The outcome will be stage performances and an exhibition.The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will include photographs and a 10-12 minute video documentation. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees for resource persons, workshops, a performance, documentation, and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a sound installation using information gathered on the usage, wastage, and pollution of water in India. Tentatively titled Water.org the work seeks to understand the politics around water resources in India and build awareness about it. The outcome will be an exhibition of the interactive installation and an e-book created from information gathered from multiple sources. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the material gathered for the work, an E-book, images of the graphical notation score, photographs of the process and media reports of the exhibition. Grant funds will pay for costs towards purchase of materials, professional fees, travel, and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a performance-work titled Shiva that explores queer identities. Based on personal experiences, it will trace the story of a young poet coming out to his mother, through a series of letters and poems that express fear, conviction, choice, and a deep longing for her acceptance. The performance also seeks to draw on and challenge the tenets of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music, viewing them from a queer perspective. Imagined as an iterative, creative series of performances, this process seeks to emerge as a platform that will trigger dialogues on alternative identities, relationships, gender, sexuality, masculinity, peer pressure, and mob violence. The outcome will be a series of eight performances across Karnataka. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photographs and video documentation of the process work and performance. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, travel and living, professional fees, rehearsal / performance space and studio hire, production, printing and publicity, documentation, and an accountant’s fee.
For a wide-ranging engagement and workshops with seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students of the Government High School, Hiremanakatti, Haveri district to introduce them to the songs of Dollu Kunita—a popular drum-dance form of Karnataka—and the subsequent use of these songs to explore the texts as part of the school curriculum. The outcome will be a performance. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will include photographs from the workshops and an audio video recording of the performance. Grant funds will pay for an honorarium, workshop, professional fees for resource persons, documentation, production, travel 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 visual and written exploration of the idea of attachment through an engagement with the minority community of Armenians in Kolkata. Using alternative photographic processes involving unique materials, this project seeks to bring a forgotten and almost extinct Armenian community to the forefront of discussions through a researched body of work. The outcomes of this project will be an exhibition/ installation comprising documentary photographs of spaces and objects, negatives in the collections of the families and portraits of family members prepared using alternative photographic processes; and the draft of a book containing photographs and essays. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the photographs, the draft of the book and still and video documentation of the exhibition / installation. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, material costs, travel and living costs, purchase of books, studio hire, stationery and printing, and an accountant’s fee.
For support towards storytelling sessions for fifth, sixth and seventh grade students of the Government Primary School in Angadibail, Uttara Kannada district, involving teachers and members of three tribal communities in the Gokarna – Ankola region. The project aims to document and revitalise the fast disappearing oral traditions of the communities, while creating a deeper and richer learning experience for the students by connecting their classroom learning to their own local contexts. The outcomes of this project will be an illustrated storybook and audio and textual documentation of the stories leading to an exhibition in the school. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final reports will include the illustrated storybook, audio and textual documentation of the stories along with video and still documentation of the process and the exhibition. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, travel and living costs, printing costs, honorarium, exhibition costs, stationery, and an accountant’s fee.
For a wide-ranging engagement and workshops with fifth, sixth and seventh grade students of the Government Higher Primary School, Hulasogi, Haveri District to expose them to Kolata – a popular stick dance form of Karnataka. The outcome will be series of performances. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will include photographs from the workshops and audio video recording of the performance. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, exhibition costs, workshop costs, printing costs, professional fees, documentation costs, travel and living costs and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of workshops by a dance practitioner in five cities of India, pegged around the performance piece Queen-Size. The workshops are aimed at generating conversations around sexuality, desire and gender activism raising critical queries about Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code constituted in 1861 that criminalises homosexuality. The outcome of the project will be the five workshops. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be still photographs of the workshops, written comments of the audience, media reports and publicity material. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, professional fees, honorarium, production management cost, freight and local travel, workshop costs, and an accountant's fee.
For a practice-based study on the lives of the Lisus, an indigenous forest-dwelling community in the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve located on the Indo-Myanmar border of Arunachal Pradesh. Through the use of photography and video, the project will explore alternative aesthetic approaches to the depiction of tribal culture while consciously moving away from exoticised colonial and anthropological visual constructions of tribal communities. Further, it will examine the construction of stereotypes and the politics of representation of marginalised communities. The outcome of this project will be a photography and audio-visual installation with podcasts and videos. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be images, materials from the audio-visual documentation and an accompanying manuscript. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees, travel and living, labour, equipment rental and purchase, installation and an accountant’s fee.
For research to study the discourse of dissent in the Natua Naach form of Bihar. The project will explore ways in which Dalit folklore takes the form of political expression and resistance, challenging caste and social oppression and hierarchy. It will also look at transformations in the form over the last few years with the advent of technology and modernisation, and the role it plays in contemporary society as a platform for the marginalised. The outcome of this project will be a manuscript for a book. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final reports will be the manuscript, an audio-visual documentation of the Natua Nach performances and interviews conducted in the field. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, travel and living, equipment rental, stationery and books, typing and printing, and an accountant’s fee.
For research to study the life and work of Baburao Painter - producer, director and the founder of the Maharashtra Film Company. The project will explore the evolution of regional cinema in Kolhapur by situating Baburao’s work amidst literary and visual cultures of his time, tracing his influence on and connections with contemporary artists, thinkers, writers and political figures. The outcome of this project will be a biographical account of him, which will be subsequently published as a book. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the manuscript of the book including images. The grant funds will cover honorarium, research assistance and translation costs, travel and living costs, professional fees, and an accountant’s fee.
For research to write a critical history of Tamil theatre during the early 20th century, studying the writings of Pammal Sammadha Mudaliar, who is considered the founding father of modern Tamil theatre. The project will critically examine the categorisation of Tamil theatre into ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ forms, highlighting the struggles of theatre practitioners against the backdrop of anti-colonial and the emergent anti-Brahminical movements in the region. The outcome will be a manuscript for a book. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final reports will be the manuscript with images and excerpts of translations from the writings of Pammal and interviews conducted in the field. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, research assistance, travel and living, stationery and documentation, typing and printing, and an accountant’s fee.
For research on the British Colonial visual narratives of landscape and people in the High Ranges of Kerala. The project will study how European photographers, ethnographers and travellers documented the daily lives of people in the region and critique the colonial gaze. It will examine the ways in which the binaries of the civilised and the uncivilised were created on the basis of physical representations of the native people staged against exotic backdrops. The outcome of this project will be a photo essay and an exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the essay and photographic documentation from various collections across Kerala. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, documentation costs, DTP and printing costs, exhibition costs, reference material costs, and an accountant’s fee.
For research on the Royal Carnatic Orchestra of the Mysore Court which has now evolved into the Mysore Police Band. It will trace the journey of the Orchestra from being considered as ‘exotic’ in 19th-century India to the current perception of it being an ignored ‘relic’ of the British Raj. The project will also examine the ways in which the Band, which was instated to safeguard the ‘culturally pristine form’ of Carnatic music against the backdrop of sociopolitical and cultural transformation in South India, has been excluded from mainstream discourses. The outcome will be a manuscript for a book. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the manuscript, audio-visual footage of recordings and performances, and notations of the music of the Band. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, professional fees, travel and accommodation, equipment rental, fee to institutions for copying relevant documents and records, and an accountant’s fee.
