Request for Proposals: IFA x The Archives at NCBS | Deadline: September 19, 2024

IFA, in collaboration with the Archives at National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, invites applications for IFA-NCBS Creative and Scholarly Projects, under our Archives and Museums programme. The programme has a twofold objective: to provide arts practitioners and researchers with an opportunity to generate new, critical and creative approaches for public engagement with archives and museum collections; and to energise these spaces as platforms for dialogue and discourse. Read about earlier projects under this programme.

Deadline: September 19, 2024

About Archives at NCBS:

The Archives at NCBS is a public centre for the history of science in contemporary India. Over 350,000 processed objects across 50+ collections are in various forms, ranging from paper-based manuscripts to negatives to photographs, books, fine art, audio recordings, scientific equipment, letters, and field and lab notes. The holdings include the papers of the ornithologist, Ravi Sankaran, and the molecular biologist and co-founder of NCBS, Obaid Siddiqi. They include papers of TSG Sastry, a physicist who worked on the Thumba rocket programme, Leslie Coleman, an early 20th century agricultural scientist in Mysore state, and the renowned agricultural scientist, MS Swaminathan. The Archives has one underlying philosophy—of enabling diverse stories—and operates on four broad verticals: to strengthen research collections and access in the history of science in contemporary India; to push the frontiers of research in archival sciences in India; to build capacity and public awareness through education, training and programming; and to reimagine the archives as part of the commons through vibrant public engagement.

About the Collection:

Everything that is accessible through the Archives at NCBS online catalogues is available for this collaboration. Your points of entry to the Archives at NCBS catalogues are:

https://archives.ncbs.res.in/access (Introduction on how to navigate the dense online catalogues!)

https://catalogue.archives.ncbs.res.in/ (Full catalogue)

https://archives.ncbs.res.in/featured-collections (A set of collections that also have digital objects viewable through our catalogue site)

The archives’s accessions in 2023 is focused on ecology and conservation in modern India, and that would be a good area to develop stories from. However, the Archives at NCBS carries material from across all disciplines of science, as well as mathematics, health, engineering and technology. Within each collection, objects will speak to issues of politics, culture, education, caste, class, sports, labour, music (and more).

About the Scope of IFA-NCBS Scholarly and Creative Projects:

We invite applications focusing on the collections available here. Many of these also speak to each other since they broadly draw from the history of ecology and conservation in contemporary India. Within these, we suggest that applicants look at the intersection of science with society, politics and culture.

The output of the projects could be in numerous forms like podcasts, gallery installations, theatre performances, reading room installations, or monographs.

For the Scholarly Project, we encourage proposals that:

  • deeply engage with at least 1-2 collections and develop ways to connect their histories and situate the history of science/ecology in a larger frame of societal changes in India.
  • can propose and create outcomes in the form of a written paper, or an audio lecture (or both), and in a form that can be displayed on the websites of Archives at NCBS.
  • apply with ideas and outcomes from which an excerpt (or the whole) can be kept in the Archives at NCBS for long-term preservation. For instance, a scholarly project could have a written paper, monograph/essays or audio lecture that can be preserved for long-term access.

For the Creative Project we encourage proposals that:

  • engage with one or more than one collection and curate an exhibition/installation that has a few of the archival objects embedded either directly in the space or in an interpretive way. 
  • ideate and create outcomes in the form of performances, installations, films, websites, and more, in both the physical and digital spaces.
  • In a creative project, even if it is a site-specific installation, we would appreciate it if NCBS could choose to keep an excerpt from the installation that serves as a characteristic of the whole exhibition.

Duration of the Project: Up to 15 months

Please Note:

  • Project Coordinators will need to research and critically engage with the collections from the Archives at NCBS in Bangalore. Even though the collection can be accessed online, the applicant is encouraged to visit the archives during the project duration and create on-site programming around their respective projects in form workshops, lecture demonstration, curated walk-throughs and others.
  • In either project, NCBS can provide temporary space for an exhibition, but the specifics will depend on the planned work. NCBS can also provide digital space on its server, but these come with limitations that can be discussed with the artist upon final selection.
  • Project Coordinators will have access to the specific materials mentioned above over the duration of the project. For more information about the collections and materials available for research, please contact Deepika S at deepikas@ncbs.res.in

Applicant Profile:

  • We seek applications from curators, designers, artists, art-educators, researchers, writers, performers, as well as other creative practitioners, and scholars with a background in research and a keen interest in working with archival collections.
  • Only Indian nationals are eligible to apply. To know more about our eligibility criteria, click here

Budget:

  • The project cost should not exceed Rs 3,00,000/-
  • You can request for an honorarium not exceeding 30% of the proposed budget for the entire duration of the project. The total amount is inclusive of the honorarium.

Funds will cover only project-related costs and activities, and will not pay for infrastructure costs or equipment purchase.

Submission Guidelines:

Send us the following in a single email:

  • A proposal briefly describing the project (as described in the call with outlines of creative outcomes that one can imagine, or research questions if it is a Scholarly project) that could be developed from the materials mentioned above. The description should include the vision, approach and possible outcomes.
  • A brief note on other public programmes that could be developed from the material.
  • Detailed timeline for the project.
  • Detailed budget.
  • Your CV with a brief description of a project you have been involved with as a curator, arts practitioner, or researcher. This description should comprise the vision, processes, and outcomes from that project. Please send us a document with links and not attachments.
  • You can write your proposal in any Indian language, including English.

Email your applications or any queries to Ritwika Misra at ritwika@indiaifa.org with the subject line: Application for IFA - NCBS Project

Key Dates:

  • The deadline for receiving applications is September 19, 2024.
  • Interviews with shortlisted candidates are expected to take place in October 2024.
  • The project will commence by November 2024 for a period of 15 months.

IFA will implement this project with you directly as Project Coordinator.

Please note that IFA is committed to creating a safe environment that supports, respects, and protects everyone, including children. The applicant must be aligned with this and must uphold it at all times.