Shakti Milan Sharma

Shakti Milan Sharma is an emerging inter-sectional multidisciplinary artist from New Delhi. His work has consistently engaged with questions of body in both the phenomenological and the performative contexts through multiple prisms and lenses. He completed MA in Visual Art from the School of Culture and Creative Expressions, Ambedkar University, Delhi. Through this grant, he intends to explore the erotic lives and experiences of people on the internet.

Shakti will make a zine that brings together different micro tales narrating the impact of the internet on people’s sexual and erotic lives. Through social media, Shakti will release a call open to adults of any sexual orientation, for submissions encapsulating the theme in just 25 words. These micro-stories can be in any language with translation if possible, either handwritten or digitally typed. They could be factual or fictional. They will then compiled into a zine where every single response would be juxtaposed and supplemented with a visual - an illustration, drawing, poster, meme, photograph or artwork - taken from the internet which would directly or indirectly respond to those received submissions. The zine will also have information on organisations that promote sex education and support causes like HIV/AIDS, menstrual health and hygiene awareness, help against cybercrimes, support for mental health, pro-LGBTQIA motions, concerns of sex workers etc.

It is important for IFA to support the making of this zine that explores the intersection of internet and sexuality, with an impulse to disseminate socially progressive messages. The outcome of the project and the Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be a copy of the zine. Grant funds will pay for printing and publications, honorarium and subscriptions.

This grant is made possible under the special initiative 25x25, with support from lead donor Kshirsagar-Apte Foundation, and philanthropy partners, Titan Company Limited, Priya Paul, and Sethu Vaidyanathan.