Call for proposals under IFA's Arts Research and Documentation Programme

 INDIA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS

Arts Research and Documentation

Are you a researcher or an artist interested in: 1) Exploring how artistic practices are constructed and come to be regarded as ‘tradition’? Or 2) Studying the changing practices in the contemporary arts?

Scope

This grant programme supports scholars/researchers and artists to undertake research and documentation projects falling under either one of the two the following themes:  

1) Research and documentation that critically examines how artistic traditions are constructed or reinvented.

The word ‘tradition’ comes from the Latin word traditionem, which literally means ‘handing over’. What is handed over from one generation to the next may be knowledge, beliefs, legends, practices and so on. Tradition can also refer to long established ways of thinking or acting within a continuing pattern of cultural beliefs or practices.

However, because tradition provides a powerful source of endorsement and sanction for certain practices, beliefs, values and norms of behaviour, it is often invented or reconstructed, as against simply inherited. Many practices which are seen as tradition are in fact quite recent inventions, often deliberately constructed for a variety of reasons, such as to legitimize certain actions, power equations or social hierarchies, to foster group cohesion and cement collective identities, or to support political ideologies, agendas or interests. Artistic traditions are also deliberately re-described and reinvented to create new audiences and markets for them. 

Support under this theme is available for researchers or artists who are interested in studying why or how traditions are constructed. For example, you may be interested in examining the new meanings, values and symbols that are created when a tradition is invented or reinvented or what might be excluded, lost, concealed or suppressed in the process. You may be interested in how this phenomenon alters the relationship between the artist, the art form/practice and the context of its production and reception. Or you may be interested in looking at the influences and ideologies that underlie or determine such constructions of tradition.

2) Research and documentation that seeks to study new developments in contemporary arts practice.

As a researcher or artist, you may want to study new developments or changing practices in the contemporary arts. For instance, you may want to study the intersection of technology––television and the Internet––and contemporary art. You may want to investigate site-specific work that engages with local communities or the natural environment. Or you may want to examine democratic art practices that blur the boundary between the artist and the audience.

You might want to use existing methods of research and/or create new conceptual or technical tools that depart from existing disciplinary methodologies to illuminate and contribute to the study of contemporary arts practices.

Application

IFA staff would be glad to answer your questions regarding this grant programme. You are welcome to approach us to discuss your ideas or send us a draft proposal for our suggestions and comments no later than June 30^th   2012.

Your final applications should be in hard copy and reach us on or before 31^st July 2012. You can expect grant awards to be announced by October 2012.

You may choose to write your proposal in any Indian language including English.

Your project may have a minimum duration of twelve months and a maximum duration ofeighteen months.

You can request for support up to Rs 3 lakh. If you are a filmmaker, you can request for support up to Rs 5 lakh.

You may budget for an honorarium not exceeding Rs 1,44,000 for the entire duration of the grant. Please note that the total grant amount is inclusive of the honorarium.

To apply, please send us a proposal describing:

a)      The specific artistic tradition(s) OR contemporary art practice that you seek to research and/or document.

b)      The research questions central to your project.

c)      The research methodology that you seek to follow and/or new methodologies that you wish to pursue in order to tackle your subject of inquiry.

d)     The anticipated duration of your project, as well as a work plan.

e)      The proposed outcomes of your project.

The proposal will be considered incomplete if you do not include the following:

a)      Supporting material, if any, which gives us a sense of your work.

b)      Your bio-data.

c)      A detailed budget breakdown that explains how funds will be used.  Please also mention funds anticipated from other sources, if any.

d)     Your address, telephone/fax numbers, and e-mail address.

e)      If you are applying on behalf of an institution, please include background information on the organization as well as the memorandum of association/trust deed, annual reports, and audited statements of accounts for the past three years.

General Information

1)      Our funds will cover only project-related personnel costs, activities and travel, and can provide for modest equipment and materials, if necessary. Please ensure that each budget category pertains to a specific item of project-related expenditure.

2)      If you are an individual, please budget for an accountant.

3)      Please do not budget for institutional overheads, building costs and infrastructural development.

4)      Please do not make your identity evident in the text of the proposal.

5)      You can send us your draft proposal by email but your final proposal, including your supporting material should be in hard copy only, and should reach us on or before July 31^st   2012.

6)      You are responsible for the delivery of your proposal and supporting material to IFA by the closing date. Late applications will not be accepted.

7)       If your proposal is short-listed, you may be requested to respond to evaluations. 

8)      Your proposal will be assessed with the help of external evaluators, and IFA’s decision on grants will be final.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if you are an Indian national, a registered non-profit Indian organization, or have been resident in India for at least five years.

Visit www.indiaifa.org for more details

Talk by South Asian Artists at NGMA, Bangalore

Press Release - Indi​a Art Fair Announces​ 5th edition, Contin​ues to Support Long ​Term Growth of India​n Art Scene​

Now in its 5th edition, India Art Fair continues to support the long term growth of the India art scene 

18 July, 2012, New Delhi: India Art Fair, the country’s single largest modern and contemporary art fair, is delighted to announce its 5th edition, taking place from 31 January – 3 February 2013 including a VIP Preview on 31 January at NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi. Founded in 2008, India Art Fair (formerly India Art Summit) is widely recognized as the country’s premier art fair, and as being representative of the country’s promising art market. Since its inception, the fair has sought to provide a relevant and sustainable platform for the development of the Indian art scene including providing infrastructure, access and transparency, contributing to the overall growth of the domestic market and helping put India on the global map for art. 

Established in 2008 at the beginning of a global economic down turn, the art fair has sustained an impressive 3-fold growth rate in terms of scale, footfalls, and participation amidst a challenging economic environment. 260,000 visitors from 67 cities around the world, over 4 years, made India Art Fair one of the world’s most attended art fairs. International participation grew from 3 foreign galleries in 2008 to 44 in 2012, while the total number of exhibitors grew from 34 to 91. The total size of the fair has increased from 1500 sq meters in 2008 to 20,000 sq meters in the upcoming edition. The fair’s continued growth has been representative of key trends in the development of the overall Indian art scene including an increased international interest in India, with international galleries taking a long term view of educating and cultivating interest amongst Indian collectors. Further, the art fair’s increasing regional participation created access for a greater number of artists, galleries and collectors from around the country, and contributed to the rising interest in multiple regional art scenes within India. 

2012 marked a significant turning point with the fair drawing in international partners, Sandy Angus and Will Ramsay, who collectively own 22 art fairs in key markets around the world including the Hong Kong International Art Fair. The fair also moved out of the state run Pragati Maidan into a custom built exhibition tent built up by international art fair production consultants 20:20 Events, and designed by highly regarded Indian space designer Sumant Jayakrishnan. 

India Art Fair is considered to be the single largest destination for art in the region, and its extensive VIP programme has drawn reputed private and institutional collectors from India and all over the world including the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, the Samdani Art Foundation, (Bangladesh), Outset India, Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC, Abu Dhabi), Tate, Guggenheim, New Museum, San Jose Museum of Art, Pompidou Centre, Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and the Singapore Art Museum amongst others. 

The forthcoming 5th edition will showcase approximately 100 galleries displaying over 1000 established and emerging artists. The fair will feature a number of leading galleries from around the world, in particular from Asia. The fair will also see a larger and broader representation of Indian art, with Indian galleries taking up larger spaces and many galleries exhibiting booths in both the General Exhibition section and Solo Projects this year. The 5th edition will include a highly tailored VIP programme for collectors and museums attending from around the world and daily business hours, which were introduced to the fair schedule last year, will be continued as a result of positive exhibitor feedback. The expanded Solo Projects will be an opportunity to see in-depth individual presentations of a diverse set of artists. 

This edition of India Art Fair will also unveil exciting curated art projects in public spaces on the fair’s premises and around the city of Delhi. As it has in previous years, the fair will be held for 4 days including a VIP preview (by invitation only) on 31 January, followed by 3 public days from 1-3 February. Visitors will also have access to the Speakers’ Forum, curated walks, a video lounge, book launches and an art book store. For more information on visiting India Art Fair, please visit  www.indiaartfair.in. 

The Print Spotlight

Artist Profile - Abhilash Sivadas

Abhilash Sivadas (born 28th Jan, 1985 in Muvatupuzha, Kerala) is a Bangalore based artist, photographer and graphic designer. He has over the years acquired a style best described as magical realism with an emphasis on symbolism. Abhi’s exposure to Philosophy and Symbolism spurred his desire to look inward for subjective truths. His paintings are essentially an attempt to present his perception and understanding of social issues and philosophies in a contemporary manner. He says, ‘For me, my paintings are a way to present the truth about life, and in the process I am discovering myself through others, and others through myself. I intend only to engage the viewer’s intellect and evoke a reaction.’

In an attempt to further his style of painting, he has explored a variety of media, techniques, and subject matter through which he has managed to capture in his art, subjects from figure and landscape to nonobjective abstraction. He believes that being receptive to visuals be it in the form of painting, sculptures, music or movies has helped him present a different perspective through his art.

Abhi had his first exhibition at Chitrakala Parishad Bangalore, and is currently displaying his works in various galleries across India. He is represented by Gowri Arts in Kerala. Abhi currently works out of his studio apartment in Bangalore, where in addition to painting; he indulges in playing the violin, clicking photos, creating short films and designing.

 The WALL

The human mind is conditioned to the environment that it belongs to and for the same reason ever so often, people choose to not look beyond the cave that they are forced to live in. Social conditioning ensures that be it imperialist or consumerist policies of society/nations people are willing to live with it without even treading to look beyond it. In this painting, the wall with the window represents the mental block that conform people to such conditioning, and what is shown as the world outside is a representation of what life could be. Life could be as beautiful and joyous as a spring morning, if only we allow ourselves to look beyond all the norms that we force ourselves to live in. 

The White Lotus

It does not matter where you come from, it only matters what you make of what you have got. Rising from the muddy physical mire at the bottom of the pond and floating on the water, it represents how material life passes through the surging waters of emotions, and blossoms in the fresh attitude of new life, looking towards the open skies of spiritual inspiration.  The lotus flower which is a symbol of much mystic also embodies life in the four human worlds: the physical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual. The lotus also captures beautifully the cycle of life & death, birth & re-birth, signifying the eternal promise of renewal and of continuation.


(Text & images by artist)