For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will investigate the existing practices, patterns and problems in the performing arts in the context of safety and through the lens of individual practitioners working with formal or quasi-formal theatre groups, collectives and institutions in India. It will focus on the aspects of physical, mental and legal safety and well being of actors, directors, facilitators and designers and their audiences. The outcomes of this project will be a publicly accessible resource library containing safety kits, checklists, video tutorials, sample contracts and a digitally accessible forum for anonymous grievance redressal. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be links to the publicly accessible library and digitally accessible forum, checklists, video tutorials and sample contracts. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, internet and library subscriptions and equipment rental.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will trace the interplay between imagination and realities surrounding the river Teesta and the Teesta highway, as expressed through music. The songs and stories of the river represent the alternative histories of the people who work along this highway, and capture a landscape battered by development. This project will explore how people cope with their transformed lives and how musical and storytelling practices have evolved to reflect these shifts. The outcomes of this project will be songs produced in collaboration with local musicians, performances in community spaces and video diaries capturing the rhythm of life along the highway. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be music recordings, stories from walks, visual diaries and audiovisual documentation of the process. Project funds will pay for contract fees, production cost, and travel.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will explore various methods of worship across different Sufi traditions in West Bengal. It will inquire into the religious and political conditions in which Sufi Dargahs and Majars in the region have flourished over time. The outcome of this project will be a manuscript for a book. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the manuscript for the book and audiovisual documentation from the field. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will explore the political and cultural history of the Shina and Dard communities in Gurez, situating them within the larger sociopolitical history of Jammu and Kashmir via collective memories and identities. The outcomes of this project will be a photo book and an exhibition. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the photo book and audiovisual documentation from the field. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, photo book and exhibition, printing, books and library subscription and equipment purchase.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will examine the complex and elusive quality of women-specific pain and subjective patient experience vis-à-vis standardised diagnostic testing and normative clinical procedures. It will inquire how the female body is studied, written, mapped and visualised in allopathy, ayurveda and homoeopathy. The outcomes of this project will be an artist book, a series of mixed media and multi-sensorial artworks and a virtual journal documenting the project journey. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a copy of the artist book, visual documentation of the artworks and a link to the virtual journal. Project funds will pay for production, contract fees, travel and living, and art materials.
For a conference on family photographs from across India, contributing to the microhistories of people and their communities. It will explore how family photos provide counternarratives to dominant strains of thought and memory making, and attempt to move it from an area of neglect to being a significant strategy for social research and documentation. The outcome of this project will be an online conference. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be an edited volume of the papers presented at the conference, and the audiovisual documentation of the proceedings of the conference. Grant funds will pay for preparations and presentations by 24 participants at the conference and an accountant’s fees.
For research to study the contribution of Art Deco as a modernist art movement in India, with a focus on the architecture of Delhi. At the intersection of arts and architecture, this project will attempt to examine the role of Art Deco in shaping the cultural identity of Delhi under the British rule. It aims to build appreciation for this ignored and diminishing style along with the lesser-known artists, patrons, architects, artisans and local people associated with its propagation. The outcomes of the project will be a digital exhibition of photos, inventories of buildings, maps, oral narratives of building owners and occupants, stories of architects, artists, contractors, artisans and developers, a visual publication, and a pocket guide with maps and overview of public typologies. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be a link to the website hosting the digital exhibition, visual publication and a pocket guide with maps. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, professional fees, reference material, books and magazines, travel, food and living costs, equipment hire, heritage walks, website domain fee and an accountant’s fee.
For research to explore and compile the personal stories of a tenacious group of women producers, directors, writers and film technicians working in Mollywood in Kerala, a film industry dominated by men. The project will construct vivid and contrasting accounts of the Women in Cinema Collective as they defiantly challenge rules of commercial cinema in the state. The outcome of this project will be a manuscript for a book and an installation. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the manuscript and audiovisual documentation generated during the fieldwork. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, professional fees, travel, food and living costs, equipment rental, consumables and an accountant’s fee.
For research into the life and work of Maneklal Gajjar, textile blockmaker and master craftsman from Pethapur, Gujarat. The focus of this project will be Maneklal’s archive of prints of his designs, business records, letters, photographs and personal objects, complemented by interviews with his family, crafts community, designers and scholars who were in contact with him. The outcome of this project will be an illustrated biography of Maneklal Gajjar and an immersive exhibition of his works. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the manuscript for the book and audiovisual documentation generated during the fieldwork and exhibition. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, exhibition costs, travel, food and living costs, printing and stationery costs and an accountant’s fee.
For research that will attempt to explore the hitherto unresearched and marginalised narratives of lead actresses of the mainstage as well as frontline comic actresses of the Company Theatre in Kannada (1960 to present). It will examine ways in which they define and defy notions of female respectability and vulgarity through their performances and selfhood. The outcomes of this project will be a series of essays in Kannada, a photo essay and a script outline for a theatre performance. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the essays, the photo-essay, the script, and audiovisual documentation of the present day Company Theatre performances in Karnataka. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, honorarium, professional fee, consumables and an accountant’s fees.
