Bangalore

For a photography-based exploration of the phenomenon of ‘Random Amit’ in Bangalore, which reinforces the stereotype of the brash North Indian male who has migrated into the city. Using the medium of photography and text, propagated in a participatory mode through social media and offline encounters, the project will interrogate the popular, humorous and pejorative nickname Amit. It will explore the subjects’ sense of inhabiting this idea of a monolithic, homogeneous North Indian identity in a fast-changing Bangalore. The outcome of the project will be a photo exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the photographs and texts from the exhibition, still and video documentation of the exhibition, the crowd-sourced materials, and recordings of the interviews. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, printing, equipment hire, local conveyance, professional fees, venue hire, exhibition costs, stationery and materials, software purchase and an accountant’s fee.

For an artistic engagement involving the children of Richards Town, Bangalore, including students of the Clarence School on Pottery Road and the children of the Pourakarmikas who work in the ward, led by a local artist and a design firm.  The children will be encouraged to explore the environs surrounding Richards Park and their connections to the neighbourhood. The outcome of the project will be a three-day artistic intervention culminating in the creation of artworks on the walls along the railway track on Pottery Road. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photo documentation of the three-day event and digital copies of the artworks. Grant funds will pay for refreshment, material, digitising and printing, and communication and outreach. 

For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules at the Government Model Primary School, Hongasandra, Bangalore. The project will enable fifth-grade students to explore the world of matchboxes: their design and the reasons behind it, their typography, and their geographical journeys. The outcome will be a matchbox museum set up in the school. Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, workshop and material, professional fees, documentation and printing, travel, exhibition and an accountant’s fee.

For research into the narratives of Indian seafarers who left home as labour aboard British ships in the early part of the 20th century. Engaging with these stories of sailors and with a focus on the underrepresented maritime history of South India, the research will investigate into notions of home, belonging and identity for the seafarers. The outcome of the project will be a script towards a performance. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be an essay on the methodological approach and process, and a copy of the script. Grant funds will pay for travel and living, purchase of books, materials, stationery, research assistant’s fee, honorarium, library and archive fees and an accountant’s fee. 

For the creation of a performance exploring the history of the ‘Egyptian’ neighbourhood in Jayanagar Third Block. Through in-depth personal interviews of the residents, this project attempts to elicit their memories and current relationship with the locality. The outcome of this project will be an event that will include a theatre and music performance, and storytelling. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be photo documentation of the performance and audio recordings of the interviews. Grant funds will pay for research and recording, conveyance, refreshments, performance fees and performance costs.

For a creative workshop over two days that seeks to build a collective identity for the neighbourhood of Malleswaram through the memory mapping technique. Using visual story-telling, drawing, writing, and recording oral histories, participants will examine ideas of ownership, identity and belonging as well as their relationship with change. The outcome of the project will be a set of memory maps on Malleswaram. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photo-documentation of the workshop and a digital copy of the book. Grant funds will pay for materials, workshop, honorarium, facilitators’ fees and book design. 

For a community project which brings together children from the residential complex of Good Earth Malhar in Kengeri, the nearby labour camp that houses construction workers, and the neighbouring villages, to create maps from their understandings of the neighbourhood. The project will explore ways in which children see their surrounding environment and forge connections with it. The outcome will be a book-reading mela and an exhibition of children’s maps of the neighbourhood. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be audiovisual documentation of the activities. Grant funds will cover professional fees, materials and event costs, and refreshments.

For sharing, through artistic practices, an arts-based therapy intervention by the children of the MGR colony in Banashankari. The adolescent residents and participants of the Creative Arts Expression programme of the Buguri Community Library will share their experiences in a year-long engagement with this intervention. The project seeks to take their learnings to members of the Buguri Library community in Bangalore and Mysuru. The outcome will be books, performances, talks, an exhibition, and cooking sessions. Grant funds will pay for stationery and props, travel and food, performances and book making.

For an artistic engagement with the community of weavers at Yelahanka. Drawing inspiration from the motifs, instruments of the loom, the culture of recycling and craft practices within the community, the project will explore the various dimensions of existing weaving traditions in the bylanes of the neighbourhood. The outcome will be a live art installation. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photo documentation of the exhibition. Grant funds will pay for material costs, honorarium, professional fees and conveyance.

For an exploration of the history of Richmond Town. Involving a group of mothers and children, the engagement seeks to uncover the narratives around the names of five specific streets in the neighbourhood through research and interviews with residents. The outcome will be a guided walk and an exhibition of children’s artworks showcasing the history of each street. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be still and video documentation of the exhibition and digital copies of the artworks. Grant funds will pay for exhibition costs, professional fees, workshops and conveyance.