For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA which aims to offer a revisionist reading of the pocket-sized Hanuman Book series printed out of Madras (present-day Chennai) and published in New York between 1986 and 1993 by the artist Francesco Clemente and writer Raymond Foye. The project will reflect upon and critique how they heavily used Indian craft traditions and processes while keeping these books out of circulation in southern India. The project will bring these texts and histories back into circulation, with particular attention to their distribution in South Asia. The outcomes of this project will be a digital archive and audiovisual documentation with annotated notes. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables, along with the final reports, will include a digital archive of researched documents, interview transcripts and audiovisual documents with annotated notes. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, printing, hire of equipment, purchase of books and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Arts Projects (Research/Practice) which will create a theatre performance based on a queer person’s experiences of crisis intervention for gender and sexual minority communities, across police stations in Bangalore. Drawing upon instances of discrimination, violence, stigma, humiliation, conspiracies, homophobia and humour that have been part of these experiences, this project will bring them alive through theatre and installations. The outcomes from this project will be the play script and the theatre performance. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be still and video recordings of the performance and a copy of the play script. Project funds will pay for contract fees, materials, travel and living, venue hire, food, equipment hire, documentation, costumes and publicity.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA which will develop a physical exhibition and a series of associated programmes on public health messaging of queer-trans community drawing from the resources and materials available at the Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection and Activism (QAMRA) at National Law School of India University, (NLSIU) Bengaluru. The project will explore the representation of queer and trans people in general, sexual and reproductive health messaging. The outcomes for the project will be the physical exhibition tentatively titled Queering Public Health Messaging, a series of programmes on public health messaging of queer-trans community, and a resource bank of inclusive healthcare and communication system in Bangalore. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables along with the final reports will be the research, catalogue and communications materials from the exhibition and the recordings and photographs from the public engagements along with the queer-friendly resource bank for healthcare. This is a collaboration with the QAMRA at NLSIU Bengaluru. Project funds will pay for production, contract fees, travel and living, printing, and publicity and marketing.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Arts Projects (Research/Practice) which will create a theatre performance that will attempt to capture vignettes of Bangalore through the lived experiences of a single woman in the city, and their interactions with the working class and queer communities. By engaging sensorially with 20 locations across Bangalore, the performance titled Nantu (bond, in Kannada) will explore the artist’s personal experiences as well as the collective sense of belonging, memory, loss, helplessness, and survival for marginalised communities in a vast city like Bangalore. The outcome of this project will be the performance. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be still and video documentation of the rehearsals and the performance. Project funds will pay for contract fees, sets and costumes, documentation, travel and living, hire of equipment, hire of venue, and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations which will bring together artists from different disciplines to explore breath as an artistic element across art forms, in the wake of the severe dearth of oxygen cylinders in the country during the pandemic and the abysmal Air Quality index in most towns. The outcome of the project will be an interdisciplinary workshop. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the video documentation of the workshop. Project funds will pay for contract fees and the hiring of a venue.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations that will trace the collective memories of the erstwhile dwellers of the town of Old Tehri that went under water after the construction of a dam. Through science/ speculative fiction storytelling, and storyboarding, this project will attempt to explore the loss of lived experiences of this ghost town, in the wake of the monstrous ambitions of the industrial nation-state. The outcome of the project will be the science/ speculative fiction, along with a storyboard for eventual development as an illustrated narrative. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the script of the speculative fiction and a soft copy of the storyboard. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees and materials.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Curated Artistic Engagements, will create a series of poetry events – primarily in Kannada, and a few other languages - as public and private interactive sessions, in different parts of Bangalore to explore the psychogeography of the city through multilingual poetic exercises. The outcomes of the project are public and private interactive poetry sessions, an exhibition of poetry installations, poetry videos and poetry performances, a book of poems, and a digital book of photographs of the project. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be audio-visual documentation of the project, a digital book of photographs of the project and a soft copy of the book of poems. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, hire of equipment, hire of venue, food, printing, and materials.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Productions, which will explore the outbursts of artistic responses to the unfortunate death of Rohith Vemula, the circumstances that led to his death, and his suicide note. Anchored around this historic moment and its political and cultural ramifications with respect to the anti-caste movement in India, this project intends to enable conversations with select filmmakers, writers, poets and musicians who engaged deeply with Rohith’s letter. The outcome of this project will be a 60-minute film tentatively titled Speaking to Rohith. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the film. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees, equipment hire and studio hire.
This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Arts Projects (Research/Practice) that will research into the lives of artist-led institutions that existed in Bangalore between 1990 and 2022. Through an in-depth study of about 10 to 12 such initiatives, the project will inquire into the early history, programming, economic model, community engagement, politics and artistic visions of each space. This is an attempt to discursively engage with an alternative art history that defied the norms of dominant art markets and remained on the fringes. The outcomes from this project will be 10 to 12 commissioned essays and art works, a process essay and a website that will be a repository of all textual and audio-visual materials. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a downloaded version of the website, audio recordings of all interviews, the 10 to 12 commissioned essays and art works, the process essay and copies of all public announcement posters. Project funds will pay for contract fees and materials.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, that will develop a series of twelve podcasts based on the materials available at the SL Bhatia History of Medicine Museum. They will focus on themes related to the history of medicine, traditional medical practices and beliefs, evolution of modern-day medical procedures, women and medicine, deities of disease, and mental health and institutions in colonial India, amongst others. The outcomes will be the podcasts, associated blog-posts and caricatures for each episode, an interactive website to host the podcasts, an audio-guide for the museum, and public events including talks and walking tours in the museum. The Principal Investigator's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be podcasts, blog posts, website, audio-guide and recordings of public events. This is a collaboration with the SL Bhatia History of Medicine Museum, Library and Archives, Bangalore. Project funds will pay for contract fees, production expenses, consumables and transport.
