Grant & Projects

Prachee Bajania


Grant Period: One year and six months

For the creation of a feature-length film to build a narrative image of the Mughal princess Zeb-un-Nissa, daughter of Aurangzeb, through her poetry, her depiction in Mughal miniatures, and the issues around the Deccan palace where she lived for some time — its current state and the need for its preservation in an increasingly polarised political environment. The film will record alternative accounts of history before they are obliterated forever and situate Zeb-un-Nissa’s poetry in the current environment of neglect, loss, and selective amnesia. The outcome of this project will be the film. The Grantee’s deliverable to IFA with the final reports will be the film and audiovisual documentation of interviews with historians as well as the English translation of Zeb-un-Nissa’s poems. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fees, equipment rental, and an accountant’s fee.

Sebanti Chatterjee and Soumik Mukherjee


Grant Period: One year and six months

For the making of a film that will look into the lives of four vocal artists in Mizoram and Meghalaya, who are associated with the congregational and other types of choral traditions. Foregrounding ethnicities, gender, sexuality, citizenship, belief, friendship and art, the film will map their personal journeys vis-à-vis the ritualistic and performative elements of faith and the distinct expressivity of their creative processes.  The outcome of this project will be a film. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will also be the film. Grant funds will pay for travel, food and living costs, professional fees, equipment rental, and an accountant’s fee. 

Pradip Kumar Kar


Grant Period: One year and six months

For an exploration of the inscribed plaques in temples built in West Bengal between 16th and 19th centuries. The project will focus on the names of the artisans on the plaques and trace their social, cultural, religious, and economic histories. The outcome of this project will be an essay and a set of small exhibitions held in four districts of West Bengal. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be an essay, photographs from the exhibitions and photographs and documentation of two hundred temples across West Bengal. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, exhibition costs, professional fee, documentation, books and an accountant’s fee.  

Sarasija Subramanian


Grant Period: One year and six months

For research into the community kitchen and the history of culinary engagements of 1Shanthiroad, a studio and artists’ space based in Bangalore. By collecting recipes from artists, residents, staff, patrons, and the extended family of the space, and interviewing key figures from its history, the project will frame the kitchen and food as integral to the site and function of the space as a collective. Screenings, lectures, cooking classes, potluck dinners etc will act as triggers to activate and expand the research enquiries. The outcome of this project will be a cookbook and an open archive of materials, resources, references and audiovisual documentation. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the cookbook and audiovisual documentation of workshops, exhibitions and interviews with the resource people. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, local travel, exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, professional fee, equipment rental, design, printing, books and stationery purchase and an accountant’s fee.  

Ushmita Sahu


Grant Period: One year and six months

For research on the significance of artist-designer Riten Mozumdar’s life and work while exploring areas of undocumented cultural, political and institutional histories between the 1950s and 1970s. By analysing Mozumdar’s work within its economic and cultural contexts and situating his practice within Nehruvian socialistic aesthetics of the newly-independent nation, this project will attempt to address the lack of scholarship on the history of modern Indian design. The outcome of this project will be an essay on Riten Mozumdar. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be the essay, extensive visual documentation, audiovisual interviews with experts from the field and an archival presentation on Riten Mozumdar’s life and work. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fee, equipment rental, scanning and photocopying costs, library and archive fees, and an accountant’s fee. 

Latika Gupta


Grant Period: One year and six months

For research on Cham, a Tibetan Buddhist ritual, at the monasteries of Kye in the upper Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, and Diskit in the Nubra Valley in Ladakh. Through a comparative study of the histories, sites, contemporary performances and material culture of the Cham, this project aims to unpack the notions of ‘tradition’ and ‘authenticity’ to understand the making of and the relationships between religious, cultural and political identities. The outcome of this project will be comprehensive photographic documentation and a series of essays on the transformations impacting the form and function of the Cham. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final reports will be a series of essays and photographic documentation. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel, food and living costs, professional fees, books, stationery and photocopying, internet, phone bills and SD cards and an accountant’s fee.

Chanakya Vyas


Grant Period: One Year

For a series of gaming interventions as a theatrical strategy to examine and reimagine the issues related to the urban commons in Bangalore, with a specific focus on lakes, in the face of rapid and brutal development. Using the tools and elements from Live Action Role Playing games (LARP), participatory art, and storytelling, the audience will be invited to take on roles to play the game. The outcome of the project will be this interactive game theatre performance played over ten engagements in the Sarjapur/ Bellandur neighbourhoods. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a detailed textual illustrated document outlining the game design process, interview records and transcripts, and photographic and video documentation of game-testing, final production, and the subsequent ten engagements with audience. Grant funds will pay for game productions,professional fees, fabrication costs, honorarium, travel and conveyance, printing, materials, books, venue, refreshments and an accountant’s fee. 

Mamatha MJ


Grant Period: One Year

For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules for eighth-grade students of the Government PU College (High School division), Sullia, Dakshina Kannada district. The project will involve students in exploring and documenting the community ritual practice of Bhutaradhane and its literary component the Pardanas, which represent the cultural identity of the Tuluva community. The outcomes of the project will be a publication and a performance.  The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a copy of the publication, photographs, and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, printing, professional fees, performance, workshop, documentation, materials and an accountant’s fee. 

This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.

Sandesha DP


Grant Period: One year

For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School, Harappanahalli in Bellary district. The project will engage fifth and sixth grade students in theatrical activities to explore the lakes and document the traditional systems of water management that were constructed during the time of Raja Somashekara Nayaka in and around the region. The outcome of the project will be a Doddata performance. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel and living, materials, performance, workshop, professional fees, documentation and an accountant’s fee. 

This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.

Visual Art Collective


Grant Period: One year and three months

For a series of curated artistic engagements in Bangalore which will explore the different aspects of the city through the experiences of its various inhabitants. The events will include an art exhibition on the city, a comic zine-making workshop, a contemporary retake on Bangalore picture postcards, a city mapping project, an event of children drawing their favourite trees in the city, a photography project of portraits of the city-dwellers, a walk in a garden with a botanist and a curatorial mentoring for an exhibition of a landscape artist in the city. The outcomes of the project will be art exhibitions, comic books, postcards, maps, drawings, photographic portraits and a guide on trees. The Grantee's deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a detailed textual and illustrated document of the curatorial process and outcomes, photo and video documentation of the events, comics, maps, botanical guides and exhibition catalogues. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, materials, space hire and other rentals, design and printing, refreshment and workshop expenses, documentation costs and transport. 

Gaurav Jain


Grant Period: One year

For a photography-based exploration of the phenomenon of ‘Random Amit’ in Bangalore, which reinforces the stereotype of the brash North Indian male who has migrated into the city. Using the medium of photography and text, propagated in a participatory mode through social media and offline encounters, the project will interrogate the popular, humorous and pejorative nickname Amit. It will explore the subjects’ sense of inhabiting this idea of a monolithic, homogeneous North Indian identity in a fast-changing Bangalore. The outcome of the project will be a photo exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the photographs and texts from the exhibition, still and video documentation of the exhibition, the crowd-sourced materials, and recordings of the interviews. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, printing, equipment hire, local conveyance, professional fees, venue hire, exhibition costs, stationery and materials, software purchase and an accountant’s fee.

This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.

Krishnamoorthy Narasimha Gaonkar


Grant Period: One year

For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School, Heggar, Ankola, Uttara Kannada district. The project will involve 43 students in various arts-integrated activities centred on food recipes of the community. The outcome of this project will be set of radio plays titled Aahaara Samskriti—Idu Namma Oota ('Food Culture —This is our Food'). The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a digital recording of the radio plays, photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, workshop and material, audio recording and editing, professional fees, travel, documentation and an accountant’s fee. 

This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.

Vishwanath E


Grant Period: One year and two months

For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules at the Government Higher Primary School in Dodda Thimmayyana Palya (DT Palya) village, Tumakuru district. The project will involve sixth and seventh grade students in various literary and visual arts activities in a process of exploring the local history, geography, arts and science associated with the town Madhugiri in Tumakuru district.  The outcome of the project will be an exhibition and a publication. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be a copy of the publication, photographs and video documentation of the project. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, stationery and material, printing and publication, travel, professional fees, exhibition, documentation, preparatory and accountant’s fee.   

This Grant was amicably cancelled based on reasons mutually agreed upon by the Grantee and IFA due to unavoidable circumstances.

Priyanka Chhabra


Grant Period: One year and three months

For the creation of a film that will explore the overlapping relationships among memory, place, and personal archive. Located in Amritsar and anchored on the life, memories and archive of Charandas Bangia, a refugee of the Partition, the project is a cinematic exploration of ways in which personal history overlaps with the larger political narratives. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the film and video recordings of the interviews. Grant funds will pay for professional fees, honorarium, equipment hire, materials, travel and living, communication and stationery, library and archive fees and accountant’s fee.

Sunil Kumar AM


Grant Period: One year and three months

For a series of arts-based exploratory learning modules at the Higher Primary School in Aletti, Dakshina Kannada district. The project will involve fifth-grade students to learn English through various literary and theatre arts processes that explore the local history of the freedom struggle against the British colonisers in 1834. The outcome of the project will be a performance, an exhibition and a publication. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, workshop and performance, documentation and printing, travel, professional fees, material and an accountant’s fee. 

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