Request for Proposals: Project 560: Curated Artistic Engagements | Applications accepted throughout the Year

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA)
invites proposals for Curated Artistic Engagements
under Project 560

Applications are accepted throughout the year
Click here to read the call in Kannada

A sports coach imagines a series of participatory art events in city neighbourhoods with football as a form of creative expression
A group of environmentalists narrate stories of the city's ecology with games at local parks
A camaraderie of artists-researchers transform their data on working women into poetry sessions
A collective of lawyers in collaboration with immigrant workers and musicians create a series of musical discussions on the idea of home and belonging

Create your own kaleidoscope of Bangalore that engages with the multiple narratives that shape the city; bring its past, present, and future in conversation with each other. Make a creative and discursive space where arts, activism, science, ecology, education, urbanisation, technology, languages, and communities can speak together in multiple voices.

John Xaviers speaks about
Curated Artistic Engagements under the Project 560 programme

IFA seeks to implement Curated Artistic Engagements on Bangalore that reflect upon the city by asking questions or by offering multiple imaginations of the cosmopolis. Engagements could include storytelling, music, performances, installations, exhibitions, gaming, lecture-performances, public discussions and other such activities that would offer new perspectives, foreground unheard voices, and encourage people to reimagine the city through the arts and culture. The presentation of these curatorial engagements must be public and in a physical format, with virtual elements in part, if necessary. (We do not encourage only virtual presentations.) 

Duration of the project: 8-10 activities have to take place at regular intervals within 12 months

Budget: Up to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh

Applications are accepted throughout the year

Who can send project proposals?

Independent curators and artists can apply. Individuals, who may be connected with collectives and organisations that have the bandwidth and inclination to sustain year-long Curated Artistic Engagements, that engage with the public domain in Bangalore, are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be based in Bangalore and the project has to be undertaken in Bangalore.

Who is eligible?

You are eligible to apply only if you are an Indian citizen. Your collaborators, if any, too must be Indian citizens. For details, please click here.

How can you send project proposals?
Send us a proposal with details of:

  • Your ongoing curatorial/ artistic practice and your concerns about Bangalore
  • The curatorial idea, work plan, and the kinds of people and spaces you want to engage with
  • Detailed timeline and budget

Additionally, please include with your proposal:

  • Supporting materials such as writings, photographs, audio/video recordings of earlier work
  • A recent biodata including your postal address, telephone numbers, and e-mail address

You may choose to write your proposal in any Indian language, including English.

If you wish to discuss project ideas before sending your proposal or have queries regarding the same, please write to John Xaviers, Programme Officer – Arts Practice at john@indiaifa.org. Your final proposal, along with all supporting materials, should be submitted online in a single email not exceeding 25 MB to john@indiaifa.org with the subject line: Application for Project 560 (Curated Artistic Engagements).

Please note that proposals that are incomplete or that have been received from applicants who do not fall within the eligibility criteria will be disregarded.

Selection Process:

Please write to the Programme Officer to develop your draft proposal. The shortlisted final proposals will go through internal and external evaluations. The decision about the implementation of a project will be based on the recommendations from the external evaluators on the shortlisted proposals. The decision by IFA on project selections will be final.

Chanakya Vyas, Suresh Jayaram, MD Pallavi and John Xaviers
speak about the Curated Artistic Engagements category under Project 560

About Project 560:
Project 560 is an IFA initiative for Bangalore. Taking its name from the first three digits of Bangalore's pincode, Project 560 proposes to encourage artists, scholars, institutions, and neighbourhoods to engage creatively and critically with the city. In doing so, it aims to provide citizens with a kaleidoscopic experience of exploring the city that would enable them to reimagine the city and their relationship with it, in novel ways.

Namma 560. Namma Project. Namma Pincode.

The Project 560 programme for 2022-2023 is supported by Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund and BNP Paribas India.