For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate research to examine how colonial-era architecture of Jorhat survives, transforms or fades in contemporary urban life by tracing its “afterlife” through community memory, adaptive reuse and heritage practices. Through archival research, fieldwork, documentation of oral narratives the project will foster long-term community stewardship of Jorhat’s colonial heritage. The outcome of this project will be Heritage Walks and Memory Trails, Travelling Displays, Community Memory Archive, Storytelling Sessions and a Photo Essay. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables to IFA, along with the reports will be a web-based Community Memory Archive, recorded oral histories, images and communication materials from curated heritage walks, documentation of the storytelling sessions, a photo essay, and copies of the travelling display panel. This is a collaboration with the Vintage Hub in Jorhat, Assam. The Project funds will pay for productions, contract fees, hire of equipment, travel and living, website domain charges, publicity, documentation, consumables, and archive and library fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will engage primary school and hostel students of the Rolf Schoembs Vidyashram (RSV) run by Ghosal Danga Adibasi Seva Sangha, in Ghosal Danga, Birbhum district. This 18-month project titled Integrating Santal Aesthetics into Everyday Educational Practices, seeks to revitalise school education by embedding Santal artistic traditions, storytelling, mural-making, theatre, and indigenous food and customs, into the everyday rhythm of classroom learning. The school hopes to bridge formal education and the cultural life of the local Santal Adivasi community, nurturing creativity, cultural identity, and ecological sensitivity among learners. The outcome of the project will be a handmade anthology of illustrated stories, a mural, community exhibition and a seminar on Santal aesthetics. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final report will be a digital copy of the illustrated anthology, photographs and video documentation of the entire project. Project funds will pay for contract fee, materials, documentation, exhibition, workshop, travel and living and printing.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will seek to spatialise the narratives of the Women of Vaastukala Archive through a focused body of layered drawings and analytical diagrams. Tentatively titled Listening to Draw: Annotating the Women of Vastukala Archive, this project through listening of the oral history recording of a selected group of practitioners across generations, will develop a series of timeline diagrams and comparative typological plates. The outcomes of this project will be eight to ten analytical and narrative drawing plates as digital files, four to five large format physical prints for display, a printed research booklets and a digital publication. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables to IFA, along with the reports will be copies of the drawing plates, digital or physical copies of the prints, copies of the research booklet and soft-copies of the digital publication. This is a collaboration with the Women of Vaastukala Archive, an online oral history archive. The Project funds will pay for contract fees, printing, travel and living, subscription to software, archive and library fee, documentation and purchase of books.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate research and creation of a documentary film on the unique equestrian tradition of the Mishing tribe of Jorhat, Assam exploring its generational continuity, communal significance and ecological contexts. In addition to the film, in order to share and disseminate the research findings, a brochure/ booklet will be designed. In Jorhat, horse racing is a tradition sustained since 1864 under the aegis of the Gymkhana Club. It stands as a unique example of a colonial inheritance being converted into a living indigenous equestrian tradition where wild feral horses are brought in, reared and trained for the race by the members of Mishing community. The film delves into this lesser-known aspect of a cultural tradition that is intrinsic to the history of Jorhat. The primary outcome of this project will be a 30-minute documentary, along with a booklet or brochure that narrativises the research. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports will be the film and copies of the booklet/brochure. This is a collaboration with the Vintage Hub in Jorhat, Assam. The Project funds will pay for contract fees, production, travel and living and consumables
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate autoethnographic excavation, research through the archive of Conflictorium and the creation of a travelling museum. Tentatively titled Travelling with Confictorium, this project will unearth how “conflict” is understood as a movement, as a circulation across three sites: the city of Ahmedabad that inscribes into its people through spatial and sensorial habits; the museum that rearranges these inscriptions; and the participants who interpret, resist or transform through encounters with both. The outcome of this project will be three overlapping and interrelated phases leading to the creation of six workshops, co-created artifacts and responses that will make its way into the creation of a travelling museum. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the proceedings from the workshops, the prototype of the travelling museum along with any outreach materials created for the dissemination of the travelling museum. This is a collaboration with the Conflictorium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Project funds will pay for production, contract fees, marketing and publicity, travel and living and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate research and creation of an exhibition that foregrounds the lesser explored aspects of Kutch and Saurashtra, linking it with the politics and history of the larger state of Gujarat. By expanding the understanding of Rann of Kutch beyond its geographical uniqueness as a salt desert and salt marsh, this project inquiries about the inhabited and lively spaces of the desert, histories of the Vagher fishing and Fakirani jat pastoral communities and other histories, practices, material heritage in conversation with the collection and archives at Conflictorium. The primary outcome of this project will be an exhibition, a small series of public programmes – public workshops, sessions and talks – along with a booklet or zine that reflects on the processes and explorations of the project. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA along with the final reports will be the images from the exhibition, proceedings from the public programmes and copies of the booklet or the zines. This is a collaboration with the Conflictorium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, production, publication and hire of equipment.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that investigates the Banarasi bandish as a rich site of lyrical, musical, and archival inquiry, unpacking its layered poetic and sonic textures through creative experimentation and critical reflection. Through writing, composition, collaboration, and performance, the project reimagines the bandish as both a living archive and a generative musical form. The outcomes of this project will include experimental audio tracks based on the Banarasi bandish, baithak-style concerts that blend traditional and reimagined performances, and a bilingual website serving as a living archive of compositions, narratives, and sonic responses. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include: the audio tracks, concert documentation, and the website. Projects funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, and performance.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that seeks to translate the stories, traditions, and everyday lives of Mumbai’s East Indian community into a physical language. Through engagement with elders, archival research, and oral histories, movement and dance will serve as a medium for embodying and reinterpreting their evolving heritage amidst urbanisation. The outcome of this project will be a multimedia presentation comprising contemporary dance that foregrounds the cultural, historical, and social narratives of Mumbai’s East Indian community, interpreting and re-articulating community practices of oral histories, rituals, daily rhythms, and everyday gesture - positioning the body as a living, interpretive archive. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be audio-visual documentation of the presentation, archival material, interviews, along with field documentation. Projects funds will pay for contract fees, documentation, hire of equipment, hire of venue and travel and living.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that documents, analyses, and translates the Kashmiri Marsi tradition by combining audio-visual recordings of live performance with translations and critical reflection. The recordings and translations will open the tradition to scholarly and public audiences while foregrounding the specific practices (wazan, kinesics, vocalics, and group dynamics) that make Marsi what it is. The outcome of this project includes a public audio-visual archive of five professional recordings of Marsi performances with English subtitles; an anthology of thirty Marsi poems in English translation; and a long, illustrated personal essay reflecting on Marsi as memory, performance, and language, accompanied by audio-visual documentation. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be an audio-visual subtitled archive of five Marsi performances in Kashmiri, an essay reflecting on Marsi as memory and performance, and an anthology of 30 Marsi in English translation. Projects funds will pay for contract fees, documentation, publication and travel and living.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will facilitate research and creation of two volumes of graphic novel on the lesser-explored history of revolutionaries like Rashbehari Bose, Kanailal Dutta, Upendranath Bandyopadhyay and Motilal Roy along with other revolutionary figures in Chandannagar. It will also explore the tangible and intangible heritage and culture of the city that emerges out of the collection at the Chandernagore College Museum. The outcomes of the project will be a sample print of the two-volume graphic novel, digital copies of the graphic novels, a handout for the museum, and workshops around illustration and storytelling. The Project Coordinator’s final deliverables along with the final reports will be the printed copies of the graphic novels, digital copies of the graphic novels, a copy of the handout, and audio-visual documentation of the workshops and other public programming. This is a collaboration with the Chandernagore College Museum, West Bengal. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, publication, workshop, hire of equipment, and Archives and library fee.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that maps and analyses how Bengali language and cultural expression are changing in the platform era (2020–2025), focusing on how creators, technologies, and institutions reshape vernacular registers, translation practices, and audience strategies. The outcome of this project will be an inaugural online Digital Humanities (DH) workshop, a monthly lecture series, YouTube creator interviews, a five-day translation workshop, a one-day hybrid academic conference, and a bilingual digital repository website serving as a comprehensive digital archive. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include audiovisual documentation of workshops/lectures/conference proceedings; transcripts of 10 YouTube creator interviews; the translation workshop report; and comprehensive project documentation uploaded on the bilingual website. Projects funds will pay for contract fees, conference, workshop, subscription to software, travel and living and domain and website fees.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to explore the megaliths in Mizoram as archives that shape contemporary Mizo identity and aesthetics. Through a combination of ethnographic study and artistic collaboration, the project will examine how megaliths function as repositories of indigenous imagination and how they resonate within contemporary artistic practices, including painting, sculpture, and digital media. The outcome of this project will include a visual archive of photographs, a bilingual photo book, a critical essay examining the megaliths as indigenous archives and their contemporary reinterpretations, new artworks created in collaboration with contemporary artists, and participatory workshops and dialogues engaging youth and community members in Mizoram. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the photo book and the research essay, and fieldwork documentation. Project funds will pay for contract fees, workshop, printing, travel and living and communication.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that aims to generate new ethnographic art-historical knowledge on Husayn-centric devotion by exploring the relationship between piety, labour, and materiality by mapping a “Husayn-scape” from western Uttar Pradesh to Bengal, tracing how Shiʿi and Sufi devotion to Husayn is translated into built forms (imambaras, Karbalas, dargahs) and ritual objects (taziya, alam, zarih). The outcome of this project will be scholarly essays that will foreground new ethnographic art-historical knowledge on Husayn-centric devotion, an online interdisciplinary seminar, a public workshop organised as part of the project and a website. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables, along with the final reports, will include six peer-reviewed art history essays and three photo-essays, documentation of the seminar and the workshop, and a dedicated website hosting photographs, documents, and recorded voices, ensuring open-access digital preservation of research on Husayn-centric devotional spaces. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, purchase of equipment, publication, materials and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will investigate the legacy and visual practices of Kamat Foto Flash, a pioneering photo studio that shaped the visual culture of Bombay cinema from the 1940s to the 2000s. By treating the studio’s vast archive of production stills as a vital site of cinematic memory, the study explores how the technology of photography influenced film publicity, star-making, and aesthetic trends across decades. The outcome of this project will include recordings of key informant interviews and a curated exhibition of images from the Kamat archive, focusing on the study of film ephemera and photo stills. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the audiovisual documentation of the interviews and the exhibition. Project funds will pay for travel and living, contract fees and exhibition.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that seeks to explore the landscape of Qawwali singing in India through the artistic lives of Muslim women performers, along with their journeys from art practice to performance, and how they navigate and negotiate between desire and devotion, career and honour, visibility and containment, and selective loving of a culture and tradition. The project employs a visual ethnographic approach, combining participant observation, interviews, documentation, and archival research. The outcome of this project will be a short documentary film that captures the stories and performance journeys of at least two qawwalan at different stages in their careers, along with songs contributed by them. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will include the documentary film and Sufi songs sung by the artists and contributors. Project funds will pay for contract fees and travel and living.
