For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to explore the megaliths in Mizoram as archives that shape contemporary Mizo identity and aesthetics. Through a combination of ethnographic study and artistic collaboration, the project will examine how megaliths function as repositories of indigenous imagination and how they resonate within contemporary artistic practices, including painting, sculpture, and digital media. The outcome of this project will include a visual archive of photographs, a bilingual photo book, a critical essay examining the megaliths as indigenous archives and their contemporary reinterpretations, new artworks created in collaboration with contemporary artists, and participatory workshops and dialogues engaging youth and community members in Mizoram. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the photo book and the research essay, and fieldwork documentation. Project funds will pay for contract fees, workshop, printing, travel and living and communication.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to generate new ethnographic art-historical knowledge on Husayn-centric devotion by exploring the relationship between piety, labour, and materiality by mapping a “Husayn-scape” from western Uttar Pradesh to Bengal, tracing how Shiʿi and Sufi devotion to Husayn is translated into built forms (imambaras, Karbalas, dargahs) and ritual objects (taziya, alam, zarih). The outcome of this project will be scholarly essays that will foreground new ethnographic art-historical knowledge on Husayn-centric devotion, an online interdisciplinary seminar, a public workshop organised as part of the project and a website. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables, along with the final reports, will include six peer-reviewed art history essays and three photo-essays, documentation of the seminar and the workshop, and a dedicated website hosting photographs, documents, and recorded voices, ensuring open-access digital preservation of research on Husayn-centric devotional spaces. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, purchase of equipment, publication, materials and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will investigate the legacy and visual practices of Kamat Foto Flash, a pioneering photo studio that shaped the visual culture of Bombay cinema from the 1940s to the 2000s. By treating the studio’s vast archive of production stills as a vital site of cinematic memory, the study explores how the technology of photography influenced film publicity, star-making, and aesthetic trends across decades. The outcome of this project will include recordings of key informant interviews and a curated exhibition of images from the Kamat archive, focusing on the study of film ephemera and photo stills. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the audiovisual documentation of the interviews and the exhibition. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees and exhibition.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that seeks to explore the landscape of Qawwali singing in India through the artistic lives of Muslim women performers, along with their journeys from art practice to performance, and how they navigate and negotiate between desire and devotion, career and honour, visibility and containment, and selective loving of a culture and tradition. The project employs a visual ethnographic approach, combining participant observation, interviews, documentation, and archival research. The outcome of this project will be a short documentary film that captures the stories and performance journeys of at least two qawwalan at different stages in their careers, along with songs contributed by them. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the documentary film and Sufi songs sung by the artists and contributors. Project funds will pay for contract fees and travel and living.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to deepen the documentation and critical study of the Somana Kunita masked ritual-dance and its sobāne songs in Hassan district, Karnataka. The study will record and translate sobāne, map their histories and local variations, and stage practice-led re-enactments and community conversations that tease out the gendered stories hidden within this living oral tradition. The outcome of the project will be a collection of Somana Kunita and sobāne recordings, a reflective documentation of research findings that situates the practice historically and personally, and a final performance. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the audiovisual archive of the songs and the documentation of research findings. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, purchase of books, printing, exhibition, documentation, and purchase of equipment.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that documents the relationship between boats, boat-making, Bhatiyali, and related song traditions and race cultures among Miya communities of the Char-Chapori regions in Assam. It treats boats as material-cultural lifelines and explores song repertoires, boat craft, and river performance as modes of community memory and resilience. The outcomes of this project will be a short documentary film, an audio collection of Bhatiyali and related river songs, a visual ethnographic essay and exhibition. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the edited film, the photo essay, and audio recordings of songs. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, exhibition, hire of equipment and hire of venue.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that documents and analyses the ritual and performative life of Muharram in selected coastal and riverine towns of southern Tamil Nadu (Eruvadi, Melapalayam, Kayalpattinam, and Puliyangudi). It foregrounds processions, devotional recitations, martial and fire-related performances, material culture, and foodways to understand how these practices shape local memory. The outcome of this project will be a bilingual research report/essay, a short documentary film, a curated photo archive, and a digital repository of audio-visual materials with a bilingual glossary. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the bilingual essay and glossary, the edited documentary film, audiovisual files, and accompanying metadata. Projects funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, printing, communication, hire of equipment and purchase of equipment.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to study the Arabana Muttu in Malabar and examine how this ritualistic art form shapes ethical habits, collective emotions, and local subjectivities through embodied training, ritual, and performance. The project combines ethnography and filmmaking to document how Arabana Muttu moves between devotional and secular spaces, especially within the Kerala school Kalolsavam circuit. The outcomes of this project will be a full-length documentary film in Malayalam, a scholarly monograph in English, a curated digital archive of recorded performances and interviews, and a package of edited audio-visual clips, field notes, and contextual materials for public and scholarly use. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the documentary film, the monograph manuscript, the digital archive, and the accompanying metadata. Projects funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, hire of equipment, purchase of equipment, archive and library fees, printing, purchase of books, stationery and communication.
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 prevalent practices of Chalant music in and around the town of Kishtwar, identifying it as a marker of cultural fluidity between the Chenab Valley and the Kashmir region. Alongside this, the project will analyse, document and contextualise the music and poetry of Janbaaz Doolwal, who is associated with the genesis of this musical style. The outcomes of this project will be a 30-40 minute high-resolution audio package and a film based on the music and poetry of Doolwal. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the film, the audio package of musical performances, and audiovisual documentation from the field. Project funds will pay for travel and living, hire of equipment, contract fees and materials.
