For a two-day colloquium titled ‘Locating Art Histories: Dialogues on Language, Writing, and Research in India’ organised by the Asia Art Archive (AAA) in New Delhi. The colloquium builds upon the Bibliography project AAA has been doing for the last three years, and will engage with the question of art writing in various Indian languages.
For research into a shawl painting tradition from Nagaland called Tsungkotepsu, towards an examination of the visual, material and social cultures of the Naga tribes. The study of Tsungkotepsu, as woven form of expression, will enhance understanding of how traditions reinvent themselves by merging with ‘larger’ traditions to ensure their own survival. The research will result in a monograph,a film, and the creation of puppets inspired by Tsungkotepsu motifs.
For the research and documentation of printed images from popular Urdu literature produced in the first half of the 20th century, leading to the creation of a curated website. This project will examine when and why Urdu went from being a mainstream language reflecting the cultural plurality of North India, to one associated with Islam.
For a series of performance art workshops exploring imaginative processes of performance-making. Held across different cities in the country, these workshops will result in several performance pieces, titled harkats. The performance-making processes along with critical conversations and reflections on performance art will be documented.
For the fourth edition of a residency for six emerging choreographers from diverse dance backgrounds and regions. They will work with peers and mentors to develop individual pieces of work, which will be performed for the public at the conclusion of the residency.
For the third edition of a residency programme for six emerging choreographers from diverse dance backgrounds and regions. The resident artists will engage in intensive workshops and discussions with peers and mentors over ten weeks to create individual pieces of work, which will be shown to the public at the conclusion of the residency.
For research and the making of a film on the journey of a Genda Phool song, with its origins in Chhattisgarhi folk music, across varying musical, cultural and social contexts. The project will trace the various transformations and appropriations of the song and the different meanings it has acquired as a result.
For research into the archive of the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) to shed light on how the State, as embodied by the CFSI, imagined and represented the child. The research will cover the period from 1955, when CFSI was established, to the early 1980s. The project will result in a monograph and a curated package of films from the CFSI archive.
For the creation of sequential visual storytelling techniques based on the study of three picture-based folk performance traditions. With the aim of enriching the contemporary comic book form, the project will focus on how Patachitra from Bengal, Kaavad from Rajasthan and Togalu Gombeyatta from Karnataka depict stories from the Mahabharata.
For a three-day national conference bringing together performing artists, writers, educationists and teachers to discuss theatre for young audiences (TYA) in India and its relationship to other performance and pedagogical practices. The conference will strengthen existing networks among TYA stakeholders and outline possible actions to support their future endeavours.
