For the creation of a theatrical performance that will look at death and mourning in the age of the internet, through the particular lens of queer communities online. Based on testimonials, the performance will involve an ensemble of five actors. It will be interactive and devised, using text, movement and spatial design. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a still and video documentation of the rehearsals and video documentation of the final performance. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, purchase of software, rehearsals and properties, and venue hire.
For the creation of hypertext poetry/ fiction based on an exploration of the place of pornography and erotic imagery in India from the past to contemporary times. Through research into erotic and desirous images created under royal patronage to the more recent images in the digital sphere, the project seeks to focus on the contemporary understandings of terms such as ‘erotic’ and ‘sexual’, particularly from the point of view of female and queer pleasure. The outcome of this project will be a website containing the hypertext poetry/ fiction alongside a selection of erotic images, and a foldable booklet. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the hypertext poetry/ fiction, copies of the booklet and the website downloaded on a drive. Grant funds will pay for printing, honorarium, professional fees, purchase of books and online material and website creation.
For an exploration of the various stories of people from marginalised communities as shared on the internet thus claiming their own space which they are often denied in society. Taking the form of letters written to the internet the outcome of this project will be a publication. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a copy of the publication. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, printing and publishing, refreshments and stationery.
For photo documentation of the abandoned, ignored and almost invisible infrastructure of cybercafés in Bangalore. The outcome of the project will be an online photo exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photographs of the cybercafés. Grant funds will pay for equipment hire, professional fees, local conveyance and honorarium.
For the creation of an audiovisual medley that explores habitual tendencies of violent human behaviour, and how it is impacted with increasing usage of the internet. The project aims to explore the ways in which the internet acts as a medium that perpetuates and enhances the contexts that cause violent behaviour. The outcome will be an audiovisual medley of montages which incorporates archival footage, basic animation, stop motion cinema, and live-action embedded with music. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be this audiovisual medley. Grant funds will pay for set construction, equipment hire, materials and honorarium.
For the making of 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. A series of interviews with teachers whose lives have been disrupted will be conducted in and around Jaipur. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the film. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, equipment hire and local conveyance.
For a study of the complex and multi-dimensional relationship that we have with the internet. It will be explored through an imagined conversation between an artist and the internet where over time the dynamics of power will shift between them. The outcome of the project will be an animated website that will enable active viewer participation. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the website downloaded on a drive. Grant funds will pay for production and professional fee.
For the creation of a digital project titled Priyanka’s Story which uses Forum Theatre technique of the Theatre of the Oppressed to examine the issues of increased online harassment against women in India. With a collaborative audience as ‘spect-actors’ whose responses aim at resolving the issues around online safety in the protagonist’s life, four videos will be created and disseminated sequentially, such that interventions from the preceding video influence the protagonist’s actions in the next one. The outcome will be a 20-minute film compiled from the four videos and interventions, which will be made public to be used as a resource. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the film, and four videos made during the project along with the interventions received from the ‘spect-actors’. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, publicity, recording and documentation.
For the creation of a short film about love and the internet. Oscillating between fiction and reality the film titled Love in the Time of Internet will explore the interactive spaces of the internet and the ways in which it affects relationships of couples. It will attempt to capture both love and the internet through the lens of a rapidly changing world. As the outcome of the project, the film will be a collage of art, animation and videography. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the film together with documentation of the process. Grant funds will pay for the purchase of software, professional fees and equipment hire.
For the creation of three short videos that explore the impact of internet shutdowns and throttling, across different regions in India. With specific reference to the year-long blackout of communications including internet services in Kashmir, this project seeks to unravel the idea of ‘digital apartheid’ in which citizens are denied the means to participate in a highly networked and digitised world. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the three short videos. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, professional fees and purchase of stock images and footage.
For the making of a short film exploring urban India’s engagement with online dating. Drawing from interviews with men and women across different Indian cities, online research and the grantee’s personal experiences, the project intends to weave together stories of four protagonists and their quests on dating apps. The outcome of this grant will be the short film. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will also be the short film. Grant funds will pay for honorarium and professional fees.
For the making of a series of tricolour gum bichromate prints and sculptures by appropriating images collected from panoramas of India uploaded by Google Street contributors. The outcome of the project will be this series of prints and a lecture-performance. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the digital images sourced from Google Street, scanned images of the tricolour gum bichromate prints and sculptures, video recording of the lecture performance and photo documentation of the negatives and the tricolour gum bichromate printing process. Grant funds will pay for materials, honorarium and purchase of books.
For the making of a 25-panel non-fiction comic on the evolution of the internet in India, presented using the graphic narrative format. Following significant moments of using the internet in the lives of its makers who grew up in the 90s, the project will connect these personal memories to important milestones in the history of the internet in India. The outcome of the project will be a manuscript of the non-fiction comic. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the digital files of the 25 comic panels, two copies of the manuscript of the comic and detailed documentation of the process. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium and materials.
For the making of a film-document based on the presence of seasonal migrant labourers in Mirya, a fishing village on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra. Since Mirya is the ancestral village of the filmmaker, it will also be a personal expression of an attempted dialogue, momentary friendships and precarious encounters through the camera, with the men who work as migrant labourers there. The outcome of the project will be the film-document. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a high-resolution copy of the film-document on a hard disk, along with the footage, production stills, film deck and publicity materials. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, equipment hire and consumables, travel and living costs, communication and stationery, and an accountant’s fee.
For an artistic engagement to explore the Raithara Santhe or farmers market in the Shivanahalli neighbourhood of Bangalore. Drawing from detailed interviews with residents, shop owners and push-cart sellers, the project seeks to identify stories, memories and experiences of the community to this neighbourhood’s unique food culture through artistic interventions. The outcome of the project will be artwork/s evoking the santhe at a central location in Shivanahalli. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photo-documentation of the interviews and the process, and the artwork. Grant funds will pay for materials, research and documentation, conveyance and design fee.
