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 under Productions that will involve long-term artistic research processes of unpacking the artistic genre of landscape, through everyday exercises like walking, and foraging of machine learning image archives, followed by painting and drawing exercises, as well as independent publishing, derived from syntagmatic exercises in relation to AI prompt engineering. The outcome of the project will be an inventory of painting of landscapes, a printed visual of unrecognised images from the Google human-challenge tests, independent publishing on various topics related to AI, and an anti-archive of uncategorised images designed in machine learning through ImageNet. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be soft copies of the paintings and image documentations of the artistic processes. Project funds will pay for contract fees, materials, printing, books, and travel and living.
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.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Productions that will lead to the creation of a manuscript on the theatre-making processes of veteran theatre actor and director, Maya Krishna Rao. Structured as a book in three broad sections, this book will detail the essence, modalities, insights and reflections of Maya’s unique performance language. The outcome of the project will be the manuscript of the book. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be photographs and notes generated during this project as well as copies of the manuscript. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, documentation, transcription and printing.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate research towards the creation of a series of episodes for an audio-visual podcast, exploring the presence and location of class, caste, gender, and influence of mainstream politics in Tamil cinema. Based on the collections of Tamil Cinema reviews in Periodical publications from 1930s - 1990s at The Cinema Resource Centre (TCRC), the outcomes of this project will be seven episodes for an audiovisual podcast, research-based materials for social media, blog posts and public workshops. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the audio-visual recordings of the podcast, the final script of the episodes, content on social media, materials uploaded to the blog and documentation of the workshops. This is a collaboration with The Cinema Resource Centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Project funds will pay for workshop, post-production, production, contract fees, travel and living.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations that will explore the idea for a play in Kannada, around language politics, through the form of absurd theatre engaging with different Kannada dialects. The outcome of the project will be a play of 60 to 70 minutes in duration. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a video recording of the play, and audio-visual documentation of the artistic process. Project funds will pay for contract fees, hire of venue, food, and sets.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Explorations that will delve into the philosophical dimensions of finding a physical theatrical performative form for the ritualistic singing of the Arichandran (Harischandra) song that is sung only orally, during the death ritual, in front of the Arichandran temple located at the entrance of the graveyard in Puducherry. The outcomes of the project will be a playscript in Tamil and theatrical experiments in an open-air theatre. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be the Tamil playscript along with photographs, and audio-visual documentation of the theatrical artistic process. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees, hire of equipment, hire of venue, materials, printing, and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that delves into the material culture linked to the ritualistic practices of Muslims in hinterland Malabar. It also examines the significant contribution made by Mamburam Thangal to the formation of different ritualistic complexes in the region and the evolution of Mappila subjectivity during the 18th and 19th centuries. The outcomes of this project will be a seminar on the evolution of 18th and 19th-century Mappila Muslims, a documentary film, an exhibition of project findings, a manuscript in Malayalam, and publications in online and print media. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the documentary film, the items from the exhibition, including videos, photos, and graphic designs, as well as a digital archive of project findings. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, hire of equipment, printing, purchase of books, exhibition, hire of venue, archive fees, stationery and materials.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will explore the role played by Telugu-language journals and magazines, particularly Bharati and Gruhalakshmi, in shaping the discourse on art and nationalism within the context of the New Andhra School of art from the 1920s to the 1940s. The outcomes of this project will be a monograph. Alongside the text, it will contain images of the artworks, photographs, drawings and paintings. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the monograph, rare publications purchased during the project term and a digital repository of collected images. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, printing, communication, hire of equipment, archives and library fees, purchase of books and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to study the character of four seasonal fairs in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, as sites of intangible cultural heritage by looking into the customs, traditional medicines, and food systems that operate within these fairs. The outcome of the project will be four maps by local artists (including documentation of the mapmaking process) labelled in Bangla and English, seven 10-minute-long podcasts in Bangla and English, and a website that will house all the podcasts and documentation. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the four maps, seven podcast episodes, and a link to the website. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, domain and website charges, materials, purchase of books and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will look into the performances of women during the Mahila Kabir Yatra. The research will involve a feminist point of view to understand the performer's journey on stage and trace how the stage transforms an artist while looking at the sacrifices that a female artist has to undertake. It will also look at how the Kabir Vaani is transformed based on the gender of the artist and if these performative spaces are also acting as safe spaces for women. The outcome of this project will be a short documentary film of about 20-25 minutes. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the documentary film and audiovisual documentation from the field, including stories and songs of resistance. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, materials, and hire of equipment.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Productions that will enable the development and creation of a series of theatrical productions in government schools and districts of West Bengal. Centred on a story developed around the fraught relationship between young adults, social media and the internet, this theatrical production seeks to move beyond the conventional practices and frameworks of proscenium theatre to find a new language of performance that would enable the performance to reach new audiences in the interior districts of West Bengal. The outcome of the project will be the series of performances. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be a copy of the final script, photographs and video documentation of the rehearsals and the final performance. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, hire of equipment, printing and stationery, materials, documentation, costumes and sets, hire of venue, purchase of books, and library fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that seeks to rediscover the lost songs of Sindhi Sufi saint Shah Latif Bhitai in order to fill the gaps in the reception, recognition, and performance of his poetry. Through a rigorous process of sharing, teaching, and learning, the project aims to bring together scholars and musicians in order to study this Sufi tradition of singing and its role in community life across Kutch. The outcomes of this project will be a workshop between older and younger musicians to learn about Shah Latif’s missing surs, a booklet on the artists who perform Shah Latif, audiovisual documentation from the field, and a series of community shows, mehfils, and baithaks. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the booklet and audiovisual documentation of the workshop, baithaks, performances, and artists’ profiles. Project funds will pay for contract fees, workshop, printing, documentation, travel and living, communication, and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will attempt to understand the evolving cultural identity of the Tangkhul Naga community through an ethnographic and performative exploration of the Luira Festival and its iterations in four diasporic sites - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Shillong, further drawing up a comparative analysis with Luira celebrations at Ukhrul in Manipur. The outcome of this research will be a monograph and audio-visual documentation of the festival events. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the monograph, audio-visual recording of the festival from five different geographical spaces, excerpts of the interviews from the field, copies of brochures, photographs, and lyrics of songs. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, documentation, hire of equipment and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will delve into the undocumented aspects of the Dalit Panther Movement in Gujarat, shedding light on its historical significance and the crucial role played by the Panther magazine in disseminating its ideologies. The outcomes of this project will be a comprehensive research article on the Dalit Panther Movement in Gujarat, in English and Gujarati, a multimedia exhibition complemented by a digital archive of the magazine, and audio documentation of field interviews. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the research article on the Dalit Panther Movement in Gujarat, in English and Gujarati, the digital archive for the Panther magazine, and audio documentation of field interviews, capturing firsthand perspectives. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, printing, hire of venue, documentation, hire of equipment, library and archive fees, purchase of books and stationery.
