For research into the notions of gender and identity, with specific reference to gender testing in the field of athletics. Through detailed interviews and study, this research will aim to gather a nuanced understanding of gender as a spectrum rather than a binary, challenging accepted modes of identity. The outcome of this grant will be a broad structure for a play and a possible script. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be the play structure.
For the creation of a body of photographic works centred on the men of Poompuhar in south Tamilnadu. Drawing from the descriptions of lives and landscape of Poompuhar in the ancient Tamil epic Silappadikaram, this project involves revisiting the town in an attempt to explore questions around identity and territory and provide a contemporary visual interpretation of the epic. The outcome of this grant will be a photo exhibition in Poompuhar. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be digital copies of the photographs and still and video documentation of the process and the exhibition.
For the creation of an an interactive, three dimensional Virtual Reality installation based on the popular Keralan legend of Perumtachan’s temple pond. The installation will allow spectators to experience and interact with a simulated environment through a head mounted display unit. The project aims to explore the artistic possibilities of Virtual Reality and questions religious indoctrination of legends by making them available for public access. The outcomes of the project will be the interactive site specific installation and a research paper. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be photo and video documentations, sketches, 3D models and prototypes, source codes, design iterations of the installation and the manuscript of the paper. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, equipment hire, disseminations costs, materials, printing and stationery, professional fees, workshop costs, and an accountant’s fee.
For a series of workshops with Tamil speaking children to create a visual storytelling book that aims to challenge dominant notions of children’s books that put great importance on activity. This project instead will attempt to draw attention to contemplation and abstraction in the world of children. The outcomes of the grant will be a book and an exhibition with original artwork from the book. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be detailed documentation of the processes including photographs and audio-video recording of the project, various drafts and final layout of the book, and design and catalogue of the exhibition. Grant funds will pay for book publication costs, honorarium, exhibition costs, workshop costs, pre-book publication costs, research costs, documentation costs, and an accountant’s fee.
For a support towards the production of a theatre piece titled Muktidham written in Hindi, based on the history of conflict between Buddhism and Hinduism in the eighth century. The play enquires into the complex relationships between religion, power, politics, caste and patriarchy. The production will be the outcome of the grant. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, professional fees, purchase of materials, travel, equipment and space rentals, publicity and an accountant’s fee.
For an international seminar on K Venkatappa, a seminal figure in early modern Indian art. Through the study of various bodies of Venkatappa’s work, their aesthetic innovations, flaws and contradictions, the seminar attempts to create a rich tapestry of research, debate and discourse around the life and work of Venkatappa. Locating him in his contemporary context, the seminar is expected to explore early modernism in Karnataka, filling a lacuna in the history of Indian art. The seminar will take place in Bangalore in November 2016.
For the creation of an interactive play based on a science fiction that questions the idea of ‘othering’. The play will be performed in non-conventional venues like community halls, schools, colleges and independent theatre spaces to facilitate interactions with audiences who usually don’t watch theatre. The outcome of the grant will be two runs of the play with five shows.
For a two-phase workshop enquiring into the design and editing practices of Bengali Little Magazines, at a time when digital designing and desktop publishing is becoming the norm. Young practitioner participants will work together with mentor experts to create new aesthetic experiments. The outcomes of the grant will be a book and an exhibition from the materials of the workshop.
For a game designer to experiment with pushing the boundaries of both literary fiction and interactive games. The narrative will build an imaginary location and characters to interrogate ideas of colonial history, influenced by the works of major international authors. The outcomes of the grant will be an interactive fiction piece that will be free for download from gaming sites and a few smaller builds which can be showcased in exhibitions
For the creation of a dance piece that reinterprets a traditional Bharatanatyam composition called Mohamana. In the context of its history and the current practice of Bharatanatyam where the woman’s body has been constructed through the male gaze, this work attempts to de-objectify the female dancer’s body by questioning and critiquing the deeply embedded representations of Indian feminity in performance and in everyday life. The outcome will be a performance that will premiere at the Kochi Biennale in December, 2016 and will continue to be performed at the Biennale up to March 2017.
