For constructing and animating three children’s playhouses to function as centres of alternative education, and for developing public spaces around three community hand-pumps. An urban visual artist and three wood sculptors from Bastar will involve the community in the design and construction.
For preparatory work towards a project integrating art, research and activism, by a visual artist and an activist-writer/researcher. They will travel extensively across Gujarat, interact with different social groups and organisations, and produce artworks that constitute a secular response to the riots of 2002.
For preparatory research and documentation towards a film on the Sufi and bhakti music of the Punjab. The audio-visual documentation will be made available to music researchers through cultural organisations.
For a four-day meeting that focuses on the presentation and discussion of collaborative arts projects. Bringing together artists from different disciplines and regions, the meeting aims to trigger reflections on the processes, possibilities and challenges of collaboration in the arts while also generating suggestions for future support.
For research into the social world of the Mumbai film poster, leading to a manuscript. The study will focus on the labour, skills, creative choices and techniques that go into the production of the poster, and its circulation and reception in metros and small towns.
For the publication of a national theatre quarterly that gives priority to the voice of theatre practitioners, documenting their creative processes, theatre practices and oral histories.
For developing innovative syllabi and introducing new curricula and fresh pedagogical practices in cultural studies through certificate courses, workshops, conferences, consultations and lectures. The project will also generate a database that will contribute towards mapping the field of cultural studies.
For cataloguing and microfilming material on early Tamil cinema held at the Roja Muthiah Reference Library in Chennai. The gaps in this collection will be filled by acquiring or microfilming privately-held print material on Tamil cinema, and a database of the enhanced collection will be made available in English and Tamil.
For the second stage of collaboration among a visual artist, a dancer/choreographer and a photographer/visual artist, leading to two installation/performances in Bangalore—around an open well, and in an art gallery. A travelling exhibition, a book and a commentary on the collaborative process are expected to emerge from the project.
For photographic documentation of the folk theatre form Tamasha in rural and small-town Maharashtra. The project will generate a ‘cultural biography’ of Tamasha and a visual record of its entire repertoire, as well as a series of photographic exhibitions in Maharashtra.
For a tour by contemporary dancers through the southern states of India, extending the reach of a highway performance circuit called Chaali that was conceived and put in place on the basis of an IFA-supported feasibility study. The tour will strengthen advocacy for Chaali and initiate processes to establish an institutional base for it.
For documenting the traditional designs of the cotton handloom weaving industry of Andhra Pradesh. The project will also foster initiatives to produce new designs and create quality textiles in a few production centres in Andhra Pradesh.
For research into the Dalit painting of the Mithila region of north Bihar. The ensuing monograph will broaden the scope of what is commonly understood as Madhubani or Mithila painting, which has upper caste connotations, by drawing attention to Dalit painting. An exhibition of Mithila paintings is a likely outcome of this project.
For a study and documentation of the heritage buildings in Kolkata’s Dalhousie Square. An inventory, drawings and photographs of the buildings and interpretations of available historical data will result in a report to the UNESCO for the nomination of the area as a World Heritage Site.
For research into the life and art of folk musician Mahender Misir and his peers and predecessors. Through them the project will explore the cultural history of the Bhojpuri-speaking region of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh during the last century, and will result in books as well as a musical play on the life of Mahender Misir.
