For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will explore the robust spice trade that was central to Kochi’s past and the poly colonial influences that informed the history of Kochi. The project will draw inspiration from the Muziris Papyrus scrolls, the book Hortus Malabaricus, and the map of Tabula Peutingeriana and showcase in an animated form, the ancient spice trade in Kerala, the various types of spices grown in the region, and the different trade routes used to transport these spices to other parts of the world. The outcomes of this project will be a three-part animated film, a series of public engagement programmes, workshops, and a comprehensive research and documentation highlighting the cultural heritage of the region. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables along with the final reports will be a high-resolution digital copy of the film, along with a selection of images and recordings from the workshops and photographs from the documentation. This project is in collaboration with Bastion Bungalow, under the Kerala State Archaeology Department. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, production, licenses and permissions.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will examine female agency in the visual production of everyday domestic objects in middle-class, urban India. The key figure of the project is the middle-class, educated ‘housewife’ or ‘homemaker’ who is not in full-time employment outside of the home but invests her skills within the domestic sphere of the DDA flats, a standard form of housing provided by the government for its residents across the city of Delhi. The outcomes of this project will be a monograph and audiovisual documentation from the field. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the monograph and audiovisual documentation. Project funds will pay for contract fees, audiovisual documentation, travel and living, and internet fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations which will engage 25 women from Self-Help Groups from Satwas, Madhya Pradesh, in reclaiming public spaces through exploring leisure with gatherings, potlucks, music and game sessions as a way of building solidarities. The outcome of the project will be the leisurely gatherings, a co-created mixed media artwork, and its 25 framed copies which will be given to each one of them. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be audio visual documentation of the artistic process, and the image of the artwork. Project funds will pay for contract fees, materials, travel and living, and printing.
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.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations which will attempt to explore expressions for the haunting images of migrant bodies witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic, through a performance that is informed by and draws from legislation that governs various aspects of migration in India. The performance will explore this through textual, physical, aural and digital means. The outcome of the project will be the performance. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be audio-visual documentation of the performance and the artistic process in the studio. Project funds will pay for contract fees, hire of venue, travel and living, and books.
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.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Productions, which will create an artist book that will reflect on the nature and relationship of personal archives to history. Titled My Voice Is As Brittle As The Paper You Write On, the book is imagined as a conversation between four imagined characters at the time of the Partition of Punjab in 1947. As an extension of the film Iqraar-naama, through documents from personal archives, drawings, text and photographs, the book will capture reflections, inflections, propositions and deliberations rethinking questions around how history is written and read. The outcomes from this project will be the artist book and an essay on the relationship of personal archives to history writing and making. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the artist book, the essay, copies of drawings, text and photographs used in the book. Project funds will pay for contract fees, printing and scanning, travel and living and archives fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Workshops, Residencies, Seminars, which will create workshops for young people from rural contexts to practice non-fiction filmmaking skills that will empower them to tell their own stories, in the socio-political context of North India. The outcomes of the project are the workshops, including individual sequences prepared by each participant and non-fiction short films that they will make in groups. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be photographs, audio-visual documentation of the workshops, the individual sequences, and the non-fiction short films. Project funds will pay for contract fees, food, travel and living, materials, and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Arts Platforms which will curate a series of 12 to 15 sessions of discussion on the online platform titled Re-Cognising Dance. Propelled by a need to create a healthy and safe space for building dance scholarship in India, this series hopes to build robust and stimulating conversations on neglected themes, bridge the classical-folk divide, and provide access to resources, collaborations, scholars and mentors in the field of dance. The outcomes from this project will be the 12 to 15 virtual sessions of discussion and a website that will be a repository of textual and audio-visual materials. The Project Coordinators’ deliverables to IFA with the final report will include recordings of the sessions of discussion and a download of the website. Project funds will pay for contract fees, zoom and canva subscriptions, and website domain and hosting.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will investigate the existing practices, patterns and problems in the performing arts in the context of safety and through the lens of individual practitioners working with formal or quasi-formal theatre groups, collectives and institutions in India. It will focus on the aspects of physical, mental and legal safety and well being of actors, directors, facilitators and designers and their audiences. The outcomes of this project will be a publicly accessible resource library containing safety kits, checklists, video tutorials, sample contracts and a digitally accessible forum for anonymous grievance redressal. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be links to the publicly accessible library and digitally accessible forum, checklists, video tutorials and sample contracts. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, internet and library subscriptions and equipment rental.
