Archival and Museum Fellowships

Anupama Gowda and Pavan Kumar


Grant Period: One year

For working with the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM) in Bangalore, which has a rich collection of science and technology objects. For the creation of a programme titled ‘The Mystery-Gen Gadgets’, which will constitute the history and technological development of early gadgets. Their study will focus on the design history of these gadgets and the cross-cultural perspectives connected with their design, production, use, and disposal. The outcome will include an exhibition, workshops, and talks that explore the role and future of contemporary gadgets. The Fellows’ deliverables to IFA with the final report will be images documenting the process, video recordings, texts, and a publication, if any.

Hansa Thapliyal and Jayachandra Varma


Grant Period: One year

For working with the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM) in Bangalore, which has a rich collection of science and technology objects. For the creation of a short theatrical performance with young members of the Hyderabad-based theatre-family group Surabhi, that will make visible the scientific processes that are at work in their theatrical productions, especially in their stagecraft. The outcome will include a mini lecture-demonstration production in VITM, Bangalore followed by a workshop led by young members of Surabhi for an audience in Bangalore; and short YouTube videos made with the children about science in their theatre. The Fellows’ deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process images, audio/video recordings, and texts and publication, if any.

Koyna Tomar


Grant Period: one year

For working with the Delhi Visual Archive housed in the Centre for Community Knowledge (CCK), Ambedkar University, Delhi. The Delhi Visual Archive is a repository of the visual history of Delhi, from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which includes a current holding of 4,500 digitised photographs. This fellowship supports research that will lead to a curated, online, visual exhibition which will use various vantage points in the city to explore life around it. The Fellow will also collect metadata for images/collections, which will become an important resource for future projects at the Delhi Visual Archive. The outcome of the project will include a virtual exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be images, audio recordings, texts, and a publication.

Vaibhavi Kowshik


Grant Period: one year

For working with the Delhi Visual Archive housed in the Centre for Community Knowledge (CCK), Ambedkar University, Delhi. The Delhi Visual Archive is a repository of the visual history of Delhi, from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which includes a current holding of 4,500 digitised photographs. This fellowship supports research that will lead to a curated, interactive, virtual exhibition with experiential visual and audio inputs. In addition, the Fellow will create public programmes through the use of memory pods, using an app and the website, aimed to connect different communities and members of families with each other and the Centre for Community Knowledge. The outcome will include a virtual exhibition and the installation of memory pods. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be images, audio recordings, the memory pod/app activation, and a publication.

Bhavin Shukla


Grant Period: one year

For working with the Delhi Visual Archive housed in the Centre for Community Knowledge (CCK), Ambedkar University, Delhi. The Delhi Visual Archive is a repository of the visual history of Delhi, from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which includes a current holding of 4,500 digitised photographs. This fellowship supports research that will explore a middle ground between the two dominant discourses of architecture and anthropology. While architecture has always focused on built structure and monumentality and anthropology on the relationship between material culture and people, this project will explore the role that the built environment has had on shaping peoples’ lives. The outcome will include public programmes such as workshops, lectures, and field trips. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be images, audio recordings, texts, and a publication.

Samma Blu


Grant Period: one year

For working with the collections of ‘Mann Maps’ at the Kalakriti Archives in Hyderabad, Telangana. This fellowship supports research on the maps of Hyderabad, commissioned by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1908 in the aftermath of the devastating floods in the city. These maps were created under the supervision of Leonard Munn, chief inspector of mines under the Nizam regime. The research aims at studying the idea of map-making and cartography on the one hand, and interaction between the map and its user on the other, in an attempt to understand the human experience of maps. The outcome of the project will include a video art installation, a publication, workshops, talks, and events.

Supriya Menon


Grant Period: over one year

For working with  the Kerala Museum, Kochi to envisage and curate a series of activities engaging the collection that includes exhibitions, public programmes and outreach events for both adults and children. The Kerala Museum’s collection is representative of important milestones in the world of visual art from all over India. Beginning with Raja Ravi Verma, Rama Verma, and Abanindranath Tagore, the collection includes artists from Shantiniketan; the Bengal School; those who were part of the Progressive Movement like M F Husain, F N Souza, Akbar Padamsee, as well as contemporary ones.

Shubhasree Purkayastha


Grant Period: over one year

For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region. This fellowship to Shubhasree supports research to explore the period prior to the arrival of the Ahom rulers in 13th century Assam through the objects in the entire collection of the museum. The project aims to highlight the rich cultural legacies of the region, the Sanskritisation of Assam, and the ways in which regional histories like that of Assam, have played a major role in the larger mainstream histories of the country. The outcome will be a series of events like lectures, small exhibitions around objects that will then feed into a large temporary exhibition at the end of the fellowship period. 

Sayantan Maitra Boka


Grant Period: over one year

For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region. This fellowship to Sayantan supports research into the Naga collection at the museum. The project aims to study the objects which form an integral part of the culture and tradition of the Naga tribes, towards curating a series of interdisciplinary events that will locate these objects in the complex and volatile living history of the Nagas. The outcome will be a series of events throughout the year including exhibitions and public programmes around the Naga collection. 

Desire Machine Collective


Grant Period: over one year

For working with the Assam State Museum, which was founded by the Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti in 1940 and was taken over by the Government of Assam in 1953. Currently, the museum has 14 galleries with a collection of over 15,000 objects from the region.  This fellowship to Desire Machine Collective supports the creation of a new discourse around the museum and its collection. The project aims to ‘de-colonise’ the cultural memory in the museum and open up the space for popular and indigenous knowledges, re-imagining Assam both in its geographical and historical construct, as a link that connects South with Southeast Asia. The outcome will be a series of events around objects from the entire collection in the museum throughout the year including artistic interventions, installations, exhibitions, workshops, presentations, talks and video screenings.

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