For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate research and analysis towards creation of a publication and exhibition based on materiality of “paper” and how it was positioned, discussed and not-discussed mainly in the advertisements published in Marg during the first decade, i.e. 1946 to 1956. The primary outcome of the project will be 100 copies of an artist book and an exhibition. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the artist book, along with texts, samples of paper-materials generated as part of the project, a manuscript, materials and elements, mainly papers and auxiliary objects which will emerge from making the book, the documentation of the exhibition and a dossier of the ephemera related to the exhibition. Additionally, the Project Coordinator will submit audiotapes of the interaction with different people during the course of the project. This is collaboration with the archives of The Marg Foundation, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Project funds will pay for contract fees, exhibition, travel and living, materials, publication, hire of equipment, archives and library fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations which will embark on a research journey to locations in order to write a narrative feature film script, on the intersecting lives of a few fictional characters, set in the world of sand mining, around the riverbanks in Bengal’s Rarh region. The outcome of the project will be a research travel and an experimental feature film script, sound recordings, photographs and a photo essay. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the audio-visual documentation of the artistic process, a draft of the film script, and photographs. Project funds will pay for travel and living, museum, library and Archive fees, subscription of software services, consumables, film stock and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations which will be a satirical exploration of Bengali linguistics, through the writing of screenplays, where each episode will be centred on a grammarian that will feature debates in which the claims of Bengali purists would be systematically dismantled. The outcome of the project will be a fiction screenplay and a few articles based on the materials gathered during the research phase. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the fiction screenplay, the articles and documentation of the artistic process. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, purchase of books, and printing and publication.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will investigate the history and cultural significance of the Raibenshe martial dance form. It will critically assess the impact of the cultural intermediary, Gurusaday Datta, on the research and practice of Raibenshe dance, learn about the evolution of different styles, and examine how the practitioners of this caste-specific art form balance their artistic identity with their social, economic, and political realities. The outcomes of this project will be an illustrated manuscript, audio and video recordings of interviews and performances, a multimedia archive, and two public events at the School of Cultural Texts and Records, Jadavpur University, and Arthshila, Santiniketan. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the manuscript, audio and video recordings of interviews and performances, and the multimedia archive. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, hire of equipment, and transcriptions.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to study the character of four seasonal fairs in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, as sites of intangible cultural heritage by looking into the customs, traditional medicines, and food systems that operate within these fairs. The outcome of the project will be four maps by local artists (including documentation of the mapmaking process) labelled in Bangla and English, seven 10-minute-long podcasts in Bangla and English, and a website that will house all the podcasts and documentation. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the four maps, seven podcast episodes, and a link to the website. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, domain and website charges, materials, purchase of books and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Productions that will enable the development and creation of a series of theatrical productions in government schools and districts of West Bengal. Centred on a story developed around the fraught relationship between young adults, social media and the internet, this theatrical production seeks to move beyond the conventional practices and frameworks of proscenium theatre to find a new language of performance that would enable the performance to reach new audiences in the interior districts of West Bengal. The outcome of the project will be the series of performances. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be a copy of the final script, photographs and video documentation of the rehearsals and the final performance. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, hire of equipment, printing and stationery, materials, documentation, costumes and sets, hire of venue, purchase of books, and library fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will investigate the cultural memory of exile and identity formation in Chhota Lucknow, situated in Metiaburuz, Kolkata. It will attempt to understand the narratives of displacement of a community that was the custodian of the Nawabi culture of Lucknow in Kolkata, and that underwent systematic marginalisation over several decades while clinging on to the fading cultural memory of Lucknow and Wajid Ali Shah. The outcomes of this project will be a multimedia exhibition, audiovisual documentation, a lecture demonstration and an essay. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be documentation from the multimedia exhibition and lecture demonstration, audiovisual documentation, and the essay. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, premiere of the exhibition, production, and documentation.
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.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations which will research the possibility of a digital/virtual museum based on a 50-year-old collection of objects that carry emotions and history, which were stored in an ancestral mud house demolished in 2022. The outcome of the project will be the digital/ virtual museum, in the making. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be an offline version of the digital/ virtual museum along with 3D and VR files and audio/video recordings. Project funds will pay for the hire of equipment, contract fees, hire of venue, materials, and travel and living.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Workshops, Residencies, Seminars, which will create four residential workshops for movement artists from East and North East India to inspire critical thinking while nurturing choreographic practices. Four artists from diverse backgrounds will restage their earlier pieces as they work with the participants of the workshop as facilitators. The outcomes of the project are four intensive residencies and workshops for dance and movement artists, culminating in formal public presentations, along with analytical documentation of the process, and a blog. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be photographs, audio-visual documentation of the residencies and workshops, process documents, and the link to the blog along with an offline version of the blog. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, and production.
