Archives and Museums

Anisha Kumari


Project Period: One year

For the Foundation Project implemented by IFA which will facilitate research towards documentation and recognition of Sikki and Moonj craft forms as important practices from the state of Bihar, using the existing collection at the regional gallery of the Bihar Museum, Patna as an entry-point. The project aims to create a research-based intervention to revive these crafts through a participatory designer-artist approach to ensure inclusivity of the community. The outcomes of the project will be a knowledge bank documenting the crafts in the form of brochures, catalogues for products that artists can make using the craft forms, and samples of products developed and created. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the audio-visual documentation of the crafts, interviews of the artists, copies of brochures and product catalogues, the sample designs of the developed products with their photographs along with recordings of the workshops. This is a collaboration with the Bihar Museum. Project funds will pay for workshop costs, contract fees, travel and living, production, printing and purchase of books. 

Apoorva Raghunathan Iyengar


Project Period: One year

For the Foundation Project implemented by IFA which will facilitate research towards challenging the traditional museum catalogue to design one or more decks of 52 cards - a kind of ‘pocket museum’ - created as a game that would be a tool for curatorial reimagination of the collection at the regional gallery at the Bihar Museum, Patna. The outcomes of the project will be these decks of cards with possible interactive screens and QR codes to aid visitors to curate their own exhibitions digitally, a reference map, and a digital rendition of the game that can be played remotely. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the set of physical cards, samples of visitor curated digital exhibitions, the reference map and the digital version of the game, along with recordings of workshops conducted for in-house curators and visitors. This is a collaboration with the Bihar Museum. Project funds will pay for contract fees, printing and pre-production.

Beena Aneesh


Project Period: One year

For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will critically explore the experiences of migration of the queer and trans community from Kerala to Bangalore resulting in a report/monograph on the queer history of Kerala drawing primarily from the materials at the Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection and Activism (QAMRA) at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. The project will critically examine the archival materials at QAMRA, and collect stories pertaining to such migration from the community. The outcomes of the project will be the report/monograph and possibly an exhibition or other cultural productions based on the research findings. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the report/monograph and recordings from the exhibition or cultural productions, if any. This is a collaboration with the QAMRA at NLSIU Bengaluru. Project funds will pay for contract fees and travel and living.

Puja Sen Majumdar


Project Period: One year and two months

For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA which will facilitate research towards three to four scholarly essays and long form visual articles based on the materials available at the Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection and Activism (QAMRA) archival project at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. The project will critically examine the archival materials to historicise Section 377 and trace the cultural and socio-political struggle towards decriminalising homosexuality in India. The project will also explore the idea of community in the ways they are imagined and formed by queer persons. The outcome for the project will consist of the three to four essays and long-from articles, and a possible symposium. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables will be the essays, long-from visual articles and the proceedings or recordings from the symposium if it happens. This is a collaboration with the QAMRA at NLSIU Bengaluru. Project funds will pay for contract fees and travel and living.

Komal Jain


Project Period: One year

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.

Sujeet George


Project Period: One year

For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA which will develop a physical exhibition, a multi-modal book and a symposium drawing from the materials at the Herbarium located at the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). The project will explore the Herbarium as a site of scientific knowledge focusing on processes of knowledge production, archiving practices and the use of the data for research as well as pedagogic and public history purposes. The outcomes of the project will be an exhibition tentatively titled Landscapes/Labscapes, a multimodal book as an extension of the exhibition chronicling the story of the herbarium, and a symposium. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables will be the images from the exhibition, the multi-modal book and recordings of the proceedings from the symposium. This is a collaboration with the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees, and production.

Devarati Chakrabarti


Project Period: One year

For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA which will develop a series of essays, curated walks and structured writing workshops drawing primarily from the materials from the Photo Archives at the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). The project will critically explore Pondicherry as a site of tourism and history with the aid of the picture postcards and photographs available at the archives anchoring it into three broad thematic frames of heritage and tourism; everyday life and leisure; and waste, value, and the materiality of the archive. The outcomes of the project will be scholarly essays, curated walks, structured writing workshops and a small brochure for the archival photos of streetscapes of Pondicherry. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables along with the final reports will be the essays, outcomes from the workshop, photographs from the curated tours and the brochure. This is a collaboration with the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP).  Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, printing and publication, venue hire and stationery.

Karthik S


Project Period: One year

For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA which will develop a photo-film by weaving the archival materials from the Photo Archive, STARS Archive and Herbarium, the three collections available at the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). The film will narrativise a fictional account of an elusive Tamil woman who has successfully through the ages escaped the attempts of being photographed by various photographers. It intends to address the intersections of photography, ecology and women. The outcomes of this project will be the film, an exhibition of images from the Herbarium paired with audio featuring relevant Sangam poems, a series of audio-visual social media posts, and public engagements with children. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables along with the final reports will be high resolution digital copy of the film, finished high resolution audio pieces, social media posts along with a selection of images from the Herbarium, and photographs from the public engagements. This is a collaboration with the Institut Français de Pondichéry (IFP). Project funds will pay for contract fees, production and travel and living.

Akash Srinivas


Project Period: One year

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.

Ammel Sharon


Project Period: One year

For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will research, document and analyse how the University of Mysore has been documented and portrayed in the Star of Mysore newspaper since the late 1970s. Unlike  ‘official’ histories, the project will attempt to narrate the quotidian stories of the University gleaned from opinion columns, photographs and articles from the newspaper’s archives. The outcomes will be a database of the newspaper’s coverage of the University; a visual essay based on this coverage; podcasts and written interviews with alumni who have written for the newspaper; and periodic articles for the newspaper based on research on the scholarly cultures of Mysore. The Principal Investigator's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the visual essay, podcasts, written interviews, articles and the database. This is a collaboration with the Star of Mysore newspaper, Mysore. Project funds will pay for contract fees and production expenses.

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