Naseeruddin Shah returns to Bangalore to support IFA with George Bernard Shaw’s Arms & the Man.

Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore | Friday, September 16 @ 7:30 PM | Email joyce@indiaifa.org

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The following events were held in different cities in the last three months:

We launched our Capital Campaign on July 8, 2011 in Bangalore to raise funds for our permanent home. In his speech at the launch, Anmol Vellani, Executive Director, best captured the spirit behind this campaign:

“IFA’s influence, position and visibility in the arts world have grown fairly rapidly in the recent past, and with it, IFA’s responsibility to the arts. There are greater demands on us today. People expect us to extend our reach. They look to us to address emerging needs and concerns in the arts. We need a facility that enables us to play this larger role.

We also have a responsibility to what has emerged from the nearly 300 projects we have supported across the country—the books, films, photographs, recordings and manuscripts. We need to put in place a multimedia reference library to make all this invaluable material easily accessible to the public, to artists and scholars. Equally, we need a space to regularly show and discuss the exciting work that our grants are producing.

Very importantly, we want to be able to extend the range of ways in which we support the arts. So far we have done so by making grants or undertaking some key projects ourselves. But with the new building, we will also be able to provide space and facilities for artists to train and interact, and develop, record and present work. Although our work has a nationwide sweep, we want in this way to become part of the cultural landscape of the city in which we are located—this city.”

In Slant/Stance, our Capital Campaign Manager, Menaka Rodrigues, shares details of the Campaign and fundraising at IFA.

Kali-Kalisu is an arts-based training initiative for government school teachers across Karnataka. It is a joint project of IFA and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore.

This is the third year of the initiative, and IFA is organising regional conferences to reinforce the work done under Kali-Kalisu. These conferences invite teachers trained under Kali-Kalisu to share and discuss their experiences. The teachers also get to observe and interact with the work being done by independent artist-educators.

In 2008, Gargi Gangopadhyay received support from IFA to research the history and development of indigenous children’s literature in colonial Bengal. This project has led to the creation of a remarkable public domain database of nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengali children’s books. Please share and spread the word about this website, which you can check out here.

In 2004, IFA supported Moushumi Bhowmik (collaborator: Sukanta Majumdar) to research and document the Biraha songs (songs of separation) of Bengal. A second grant has enabled Moushumi to create The Travelling Archive, an open, online platform for this music. Take the journey through the folk music of Bengal here.

Curatorship

Akanksha Rastogi and Rattananmol Johar have been selected for the second Curatorial Residency @ KHOJ, New Delhi. KHOJ is our nodal centre for visual art curatorial practice. Akanksha Rastogi’s curatorial experiment is titled Archiving the Studio and it will explore the relationship between archiving or record-keeping and the space in which materials are stored. Rattananmol Johar will look into the fragile relationship that exists between art and politics in his proposed exhibition titled The Art of Political Documentary – The activist filmmaker from the ‘Black Box’ to the ‘White Cube’.

The first ALT Lab photography residency hosted by Goa-CAP concluded in April. Four artists in residence—Ajit Bhadoriya, Chandana Gupta, Shreyasi Kar and Vidisha Saini —freely experimented with a range of alternative photography and photo printing processes using various photo chemicals, materials and equipment. Goa-based art historian Apurva Kulkarni was the critic in residence. Inspired by how the ALT Lab experience had made them re-examine their practice, the artists subsequently created public platforms and exhibitions to share their own work in Mumbai and Goa respectively. The OPEN Magazine featured one of the artists in residence, Vidisha Saini, in its Lounge section here.

Our New Performance programme note has been revised to support reflective performance practices that extend beyond prevailing idioms and forms of performance and/or create new modes of presentation. Performing arts groups and individuals working in or across music, dance, theatre and puppetry can apply keeping the broad thrust areas in mind. The programme is also open to light or set designers, puppeteers, sound artists and writers working in the area of performance.

Applications under this programme can be submitted for consideration at any time of the year. You may write your proposal in any Indian language. Please ensure that we receive a draft proposal three months prior to your need for funds.

Our upcoming fundraiser features Naseeruddin Shah in George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man. It will be staged at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore on September 16, 2011. Mark this date!

The donations received through these performances will be used by IFA to continue its grant making in the arts. For details, call Joyce at 2341 4681/82/83 between 10 am to 5 pm or email joyce@indiaifa.org.

EDITOR: As the Capital Campaign Manager, what are you planning for the first year of the campaign and what do you expect from it?

The whole team is excited about the new space that will not only be IFA’s permanent home but will also afford space to artists in the city to interact and present their work, The new space will allow IFA to archive our grant outcomes and present our work serving as an invaluable resource to the artists community.

The Capital Campaign provides individuals, foundations and corporate alike with a permanent and tangible way of supporting IFA. We are hoping to enlist the support of our current circle of donors and grantees to not just come forward to support the campaign but to also help us spread the word about it and serve as ambassadors for IFA. In the first year of our campaign we plan to organise launch events to showcase IFA in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi connecting with and approaching many more people in the country. The campaign is unique in that it will enable IFA to engage with and garner wide support across foundations, trusts, companies and individuals. Every bit of support, both monetarily and in-kind, will make a difference. We have created interesting ways for people to support the initiative - from supporting designated spaces in the building to making general contributions of any amount. I am hoping that this idea of helping IFA create a home for the arts will excite people and that we will be able engage a large audience to raise Rs 2 Crore for the building. Please get the pledge forms from here and help us make our Capital Campaign a success.

EDITOR: How do people respond to your request for support for IFA and the arts?

There is no doubt that seeking support for the arts is indeed challenging. The arts are often not viewed as ‘needing’ support. People question the relevance of supporting the arts when there are other causes to support. The arts do not even appear on the CSR agenda of companies. Sometimes one’s role as a fundraiser goes beyond just raising monies, but in also trying to sensitise and convince people on the role of arts philanthropy. I think connecting with individuals and engaging with the arts is as important as the actual fundraising.

For every 10 people who refuse support, we get 1 who agrees (and strongly continues) to support IFA; that enduring support makes our work worthwhile. IFA is indebted to the many people and companies who do believe in the arts and have placed their faith in IFA’s work. It is through our Donor Patron Circle and Friends of IFA that we will continue to engage with the individual and expand our fundraising.

EDITOR: Your initiative to raise funds from individuals like Friends of IFA and the Donor Patron circle has paid off in the long run. What do you think has made this initiative successful? Do you believe that it is more effective to raise funds on a one-to-one basis in India?

You are right. I find that the best way to engage people with IFA and our work is through a one-on-one interaction and the showcase of IFA’s work. When people can connect with what we do, it becomes much easier to seek their support. It has only been four years since IFA started to invite donations from individuals through IFA’s Donor Patron and Friends of IFA Circle. The response has been heartening and extremely encouraging. Foundations may be forced to review their arts programmes, companies may cut their budgets, but individuals who love the arts continue to support us despite changing economic environment. Our donor circle is a sustained source of support to IFA. Many of them serve as great ambassadors for IFA and have helped us in various ways beyond their initial donation, like raising monies to underwrite our fundraising events, supporting specific grants, connecting us with potential corporate sponsors, opening their space/homes for IFA presentations and attracting potential donors.

EDITOR: You have worked for a range of arts organisations in the area of marketing and fundraising. What makes your work at IFA exciting and challenging?

Seeking support for a sector that is perceived as not ‘needing’ support is one of our toughest challenges. At IFA, the fact that we are a foundation making grants and seeking support at the same time also puts us in a unique position. While we make grants, people often fail to realise that as an independent foundation IFA also needs to continuously raise monies. People are often intimidated by fundraising due to a fear of the dreaded word ‘no’ and the idea of a looming target. But I think that is what makes a fundraiser’s job challenging and exciting at the same time. The idea of creating this support base and engaging people despite all the challenges is what makes our work fulfilling. And when one believes in the organisation and the work it does, it makes our job that much easier.