Request for Proposals: Archives and Museums programme | IFA x Folk Culture Museum, Bhimtal | Deadline: September 04, 2026

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), in collaboration with the Folk Culture Museum in Bhimtal, Uttarakhand invites applications for Creative and Scholarly Projects under our Archives and Museums programme. The programme has a twofold objective: to provide arts practitioners and researchers with an opportunity to generate new, critical and creative approaches for public engagement with archives and museum collections; and to energise these spaces as platforms for dialogue and discourse. 

Read about earlier projects under this programme.

About the Folk Culture Museum 

Folk Culture Museum, also known as Lok Sanskriti Sangrahalaya, is located in the valley of the Kumaon Shivaliks and was established in 1983 at Bhimtal, Uttarakhand by Dr Yashodhar Mathpal, a renowned archeologist, artist and scholar. Dr Mathpal’s study of Rock Art paintings in Bhimbetka is one of the most comprehensive research studies on India’s oldest prehistoric rock art site. The museum was established with the main aim of preservation of local culture, documentation of oral and written traditions, and the provision of imparting visibility of languishing arts and crafts of the region. 

About the Collection

• The collection in the museum includes the ammonites or rare marine and plant fossils (dating back to 150 million years), 700 Stone Age tools and 400 reproductions of cave paintings. 
• The most significant collection is the objects that Dr Mathpal has collected over the years from the homes and abandoned villages of Uttarakhand. These objects of daily life are diverse and include:
  - traditional fire-starters
  - baskets made of gourds
  - traditional weighing cups
  - cooking utensils made of brass, bronze or mixed metal
  - exquisitely carved wooden panels that were used in traditional houses
  - vessels for storage and many others.  
• The museum also has a separate collection of folk art from the region such as Aipan, Chauki, Thapa, Patta, Barboond and Muwali and ritual clay idols - the Dikars. 
• Additionally, the museum houses a versatile collection of over 500 water colour and mix-media works by Dr Mathpal. These paintings offer a closer glimpse to the everyday life of the natives of the hills of Uttarakhand, bringing alive the various craft practices, village festivals and traditions like elaborate wooden carvings of the traditional houses, miller inside a Gharat, a traditional water mill, or a newly-wed bride offering prayer at a Naula, a community groundwater spring. 

About the Scope of Creative and Scholarly Projects

The entire collection and resources at the museum will be available for these projects. We invite proposals that demonstrate an ability to think through interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches and methodologies for their outcomes. Applications can artistically engage with the entire collection. However, this is not mandatory and projects may focus on any one key aspect of the museum as well.

For the Creative Project:

We encourage proposals that demonstrate innovative curatorial and artistic intervention to reimagine the collection, with a focus on creating a digital presence for the museum, recording oral history based on the museum objects and the collector, bilingual audio-visual documentation of the museum collection, creating programmes and outcomes for greater public outreach and engagement for the museum such as collection-based website, podcasts, films, workshops, exhibitions etc.

For the Scholarly Project:

We encourage proposals that research and critically engage with the collection and create research based outputs that will support the knowledge bank of the institution with tangible outcomes such as detailed bilingual inventory of the collection, revised museum labels and texts, monographs, essays, descriptive catalogue or finding aid etc and present their research through public programmes both online and offline. 

Upon selection, the Project Coordinators working on the Creative and Scholarly projects will be required to visit, study and research the collections at the physical space of the museum in Bhimtal, Uttarakhand. Project Coordinators will have access to the specific materials mentioned above throughout the duration of the project. For more information about the museum, its collections and materials available for research, please contact Dr Suresh Mathpal, Secretary and Director, Folk Culture Museum at sureshmathpal@yahoo.com

Duration of the Project: Up to 15 months

Budget

• The project cost should not exceed Rs 3,00,000/-
• You can request for an honorarium not exceeding 30% of the proposed budget for the entire duration of the project. The total amount is inclusive of the honorarium.
• Funds will cover only project-related costs and activities, and will not pay for infrastructure costs or equipment purchase.

Who Can Apply?

• We seek applications from curators, archivists, film-makers, designers, researchers and other creative practitioners, and scholars with a background in research and a keen interest in working with museum collections. 
• Since the Folk Culture Museum is a physical museum in Bhimtal, with collections very specific to the cultural landscape of the region, applications from in and around Uttarakhand will be given preference as the Project Coordinators will have to spend a considerable amount of time at the museum during the project period. 

Eligibility

• Only Indian nationals can apply. This does not include PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) Card Holders.
• Applicants must have a PAN card and one of the following for proof of identity and citizenship – Indian Passport or Aadhar Card or Voter’s ID in India.
• Only individuals can apply. Organisations of any kind cannot apply.
• If there are collaborators in the projects, they must also be Indian nationals.
• Persons who have a past history of financial delinquency with IFA are not eligible.
• Persons who have failed to deposit at IFA agreed deliverables from an earlier IFA grant are not eligible.
• Persons who have previously received a letter from IFA disallowing them from applying in the future for any reason are not eligible.
• Persons currently working on a project implemented by IFA are not eligible to apply. 
• More than one individual can apply if they have a joint account. If they do not, then only one among them should apply with the others as collaborators.

Submission Guidelines

You can write your proposal in any Indian language, including English. 

Send us the following in a single email:

• A proposal briefly describing the project (as outlined in the call with details of Creative outcomes that one can imagine, or research questions if it is a Scholarly project). The proposal should include the vision, approach and possible outcomes.
• A brief note on other public programmes that could be developed from the material.
• Detailed timeline for the project.
• Detailed budget.
• Your CV with a brief description of a project you have been involved with as a curator, arts practitioner, or researcher. This should comprise the vision, processes, and outcomes from that project. Please send us a document with links and not attachments.

Email your applications or any queries to Ritwika Misra at ritwika@indiaifa.org with the subject line: Application for IFA-Folk Culture Museum Project 

Please note that all queries will be addressed only between 09:30 AM to 05:30 PM from Monday to Friday. 

Key Dates:

• Deadline for final applications: September 04, 2026
• Interviews with shortlisted candidates: October 2026
• The project will commence by November 2026 for a period of 15 months.

IFA will implement this project with you directly as Project Coordinator.

Please note that IFA is committed to creating a safe environment that supports, respects, and protects everyone, including children. The applicant must be aligned with this and must uphold it at all times.

The Archives and Museums programme is supported by Tata Trusts.