For the creation of a performance-work titled Shiva that explores queer identities. Based on personal experiences, it will trace the story of a young poet coming out to his mother, through a series of letters and poems that express fear, conviction, choice, and a deep longing for her acceptance. The performance also seeks to draw on and challenge the tenets of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music, viewing them from a queer perspective. Imagined as an iterative, creative series of performances, this process seeks to emerge as a platform that will trigger dialogues on alternative identities, relationships, gender, sexuality, masculinity, peer pressure, and mob violence. The outcome will be a series of eight performances across Karnataka. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photographs and video documentation of the process work and performance. Grant funds will pay for costs towards an honorarium, travel and living, professional fees, rehearsal / performance space and studio hire, production, printing and publicity, documentation, and an accountant’s fee.
For a visual and written exploration of the idea of attachment through an engagement with the minority community of Armenians in Kolkata. Using alternative photographic processes involving unique materials, this project seeks to bring a forgotten and almost extinct Armenian community to the forefront of discussions through a researched body of work. The outcomes of this project will be an exhibition/ installation comprising documentary photographs of spaces and objects, negatives in the collections of the families and portraits of family members prepared using alternative photographic processes; and the draft of a book containing photographs and essays. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the photographs, the draft of the book and still and video documentation of the exhibition / installation. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, material costs, travel and living costs, purchase of books, studio hire, stationery and printing, and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of workshops by a dance practitioner in five cities of India, pegged around the performance piece Queen-Size. The workshops are aimed at generating conversations around sexuality, desire and gender activism raising critical queries about Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code constituted in 1861 that criminalises homosexuality. The outcome of the project will be the five workshops. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be still photographs of the workshops, written comments of the audience, media reports and publicity material. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, professional fees, honorarium, production management cost, freight and local travel, workshop costs, and an accountant's fee.
For a series of workshops over eight months and an exhibition in the historic Chitpur locality of old Kolkata. The workshops are a continuation of the ‘Chitpur Local’ project designed to re-activate the cultural life of this locality with rich history and heritage. Eight artists in collaboration with local residents, businessmen, artists, craftsmen, police and schools will create various cultural activities, innovative audience engagement and a digital archive. Outcome of the project will be the workshops and a community exhibition. Still and video documentation of the workshops and the exhibition will be deposited as deliverables. The material will also be shared on the website and social media pages of the project. Grant funds will pay for workshops costs, professional fees, community collaborators’ fees, documentation costs, honorarium, website maintenance costs, and an accountant's fee.
For the creation of a musical performance based on notions of Manipuri identity that are embedded in the literature and folklore of the Meitei community, particularly that of its diaspora spread across Assam, Tripura, and Bangladesh. Through extensive field trips and interviews, the project will explore histories, stories, and songs of the Meitei community and its subsequent migration, to understand the constructions and erasures of identity—both within and outside of Manipur. The performance seeks to generate fresh perspectives on the current sociopolitical landscape of the state. The outcome will be the performances.The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be an audio CD, documentation from the field trip, stills and video recordings of the premiere performance. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel and living, professional fees, a premiere show, studio hire, documentation, production of a CD, research material, and an accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a multimedia exhibition, a seminar, and performances centred on the archival collection of music and papers of the Senia Gharana exponent, Pandit Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury. The rich collection, comprising the published and unpublished writings of Birendra Kishore, his personal notebooks, music ephemera, and photographs, will enable critical dialogues around music pedagogy, archiving, and engaging with archival materials for musical experimentations. The seminar also aims to foreground regional perspectives in the understanding and writing of music histories. The outcome will be a seminar, an exhibition, and performances. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be still and video documentation of the exhibition, seminar and performances, and the papers that will be presented at the seminar.
For the creation of a graphic novel that explores the tumultuous history of the rule of the Left Front in Bengal and its eventual collapse in 2011. The project attempts to understand the formation of the middle-class mindscape during this time and the challenges it faces in the current political context. It aims to analyse multiple marginal voices from the fractures of history, with autobiographical references to the artist’s own life. The outcome will be a book. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be rough sketches, photographic and textual documentation and the manuscript of the book.
For a set of workshops and a 30-day reconnaissance train journey undertaken by a group of artists, in an attempt to gather diverse perspectives around identity in India. The journey, which will touch four locations Bangalore–Dhemaji–Srinagar–Perambavoor, will involve performances, performative interactions, and interviews with fellow passengers and the crew of the train. The outcome will be a broad performance structure, based on which the project will be further developed on another train journey. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be documentation of the process in the form of stills, videos or sketches made during the journey.
For a series of exhibitions of photographs of veteran Jatra artists taken during an earlier IFA supported project by Soumya Sankar Bose, across five remote areas of West Bengal where Jatra artists still live. This will enable the photographer to take his work back to the community and create conversations around the lives of veteran Jatra artists. The outcome of the project will be the exhibitions.
For the creation of a performance based on the abhangs - devotional poetry dedicated to the deity Vithoba - of women warikari saints of Maharashtra. Through intensive travel and research, this project seeks to interpret and perform in the public domain, primarily through music, about 10 to 12 poems of the women saints whose works currently exist only as textual documentation. The outcomes will be two music concerts and recordings of the 10 to 12 songs. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be translations of the chosen songs, audio recordings of the studio recorded songs and video documentation of the performances.
