For working with the Kerala Museum, Kochi to envisage and curate a series of activities engaging the collection that includes exhibitions, public programmes and outreach events for both adults and children. The Kerala Museum’s collection is representative of important milestones in the world of visual art from all over India. Beginning with Raja Ravi Verma, Rama Verma, and Abanindranath Tagore, the collection includes artists from Shantiniketan; the Bengal School; those who were part of the Progressive Movement like M F Husain, F N Souza, Akbar Padamsee, as well as contemporary ones.
For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region. This fellowship to Shubhasree supports research to explore the period prior to the arrival of the Ahom rulers in 13th century Assam through the objects in the entire collection of the museum. The project aims to highlight the rich cultural legacies of the region, the Sanskritisation of Assam, and the ways in which regional histories like that of Assam, have played a major role in the larger mainstream histories of the country. The outcome will be a series of events like lectures, small exhibitions around objects that will then feed into a large temporary exhibition at the end of the fellowship period.
For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region. This fellowship to Sayantan supports research into the Naga collection at the museum. The project aims to study the objects which form an integral part of the culture and tradition of the Naga tribes, towards curating a series of interdisciplinary events that will locate these objects in the complex and volatile living history of the Nagas. The outcome will be a series of events throughout the year including exhibitions and public programmes around the Naga collection.
For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region. This fellowship to Desire Machine Collective supports the creation of a new discourse around the museum and its collection. The project aims to ‘de-colonise’ the cultural memory in the museum and open up the space for popular and indigenous knowledges, re-imagining Assam both in its geographical and historical construct, as a link that connects South with Southeast Asia. The outcome will be a series of events around objects from the entire collection in the museum throughout the year including artistic interventions, installations, exhibitions, workshops, presentations, talks and video screenings.
For working with the collections of ‘Munn Maps’ at the Kalakriti Archives in Hyderabad, Telangana. The Kalakriti Archives house the largest collection of maps in India. Sirisha will conduct research on these maps of Hyderabad city commissioned by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1908 after the devastating floods in the city, which were created under the supervision of Leonard Munn, the chief inspector of mines under the Nizam regime. The study proposes to use the survey maps as tools to explore the non-physical aspects of the city’s topography. Using landscape as text, and oral histories, the project will provide insights into the social and cultural geographies of particular neighbourhoods in the city. The outcomes could include a series of events like lectures, discussions, workshops, and a paper. She will also think of organising ‘city walks’ in select areas of the city.
For research into the narratives of the Khla or the tiger as a cultural, social and political symbol in Khasi cultural practices. Inquiring into oral traditions, existing literature and cultural artefacts, this project seeks to understand the gender and political connotations of the tiger; the transitions that have taken place in the tiger cult of Meghalaya post the influence of Christianity; and the changes in human-tiger relationships that have been affected by modern environment laws. The outcome of this project will be an exhibition and a website.
For introducing the students of the Government High School, Chibbalageri, Uttara Kannada District, to the various aspects of different types of puppetry that is prevalent in the region. The outcomes will be an exhibition and a performance.
For a series of engagements in the literary arts to address learning challenges associated with language, with the students of Government Primary School, Bylandora Gauliwada, Uttara Kannada District, from the Gauli community, who are migrants from Maharashtra. The outcomes will include a publication and performances of the Gauli community.
For a series of artistic engagements with sixth and seventh grade students of the Government Higher Primary School, Birashettyhalli, Mandya District, to explore their science curriculum through poetry and the written word. The outcomes will include recitals, installations and a publication.
For a series of workshops with sixth grade students of the Government Higher Primary School, Sangreshakoppa, Belagavi District, through which they will explore the significance of museums and museum objects, as well as collections of coins and currency, to enhance their learning in the social sciences. The outcome of the grant will be an exhibition from the materials of the workshop.
For a theatre practitioner and visual artist to collaborate on a project at the Government High School, Jeevan Bhima Nagar, Bangalore, where students will be engaged in the idea of repair and reuse. Through regular classes and engagements with mechanics from local repair shops, the students will learn the culture and skills to repair-reuse-recycle objects of everyday use. The outcomes of the grant will be a play created out of the learnings of the process, and an exhibition of the objects created by the students.
For a visual artist to engage students, staff and the local community,from the network of cluster schools at Ikkebeelu, Marathi, Murralli, Udakisara and Holagaaru, Hosanagara Taluk, Shivamogga District in a series of exercises in the visual arts – drawing, painting and design –and storytelling. The outcomes will be exhibitions and performances for the school and community.
For an artist to use an in-depth participant-trainer method with the sixth grade students of the Government Higher Primary School, Saptapura, Dharwad, to teach the various interpretations of Sobane Pada, Gigi Pada, Tatva Pada and other festival songs of Northern Karnataka. The outcome will include several public performances.
For the creation of a kitchen garden in the Government Primary School, Vijayanagar, Belagavi which teaches in both Kannada and Marathi, towards understanding and celebrating cultural and linguistic diversity. Students will engage with local farming practices through songs, stories and local vocabulary; a local farming calendar will also be organised in the style of miniature paintings. The outcomes of the grant will be the kitchen garden patch in the school, the local farming calendar and a series of performances built around farming practices of the region.
For an initiative that will take about 30 children’s literature publications in Kannada and English to high school students at the Government High School, Jayanagar, Bangalore. Using an integrated approach that involves visual art, music, theatre and dance, this project seeks to build reading and writing abilities in the students. A presentation and exhibition of text-inspired work created by the students will be the outcome of the project.
