Call for Proposals: Archives and Museums Programme (India)

This 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 energies these spaces as platforms for dialogue and discourse.

Funding Information

• 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.
• Project Timeline: Both kinds of projects are envisioned for a period of 15 months.

Eligible Projects

• 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 Scholarly Project, they encourage proposals that can
    • research and critically engage with the collection
    • create content to support the knowledge bank of the institution with tangible outcomes such as digital inventory with photographs, monographs, essays, research based comprehensive and illustrated catalogue for selected objects in the museum etc.
    • present their research through public programmes both online and offline.
  • For the Creative Project, they seek proposals which
    • demonstrate innovative curatorial and artistic intervention to reimagine the collection by focusing on creating audiovisual documentation
    • recording oral history based on the museum objects and the collection that encapsulates the history of Tulu Nadu and Rani Abbakka
    • give an insight into the concept of history through objects, which can facilitate programming and outcomes for greater public outreach and engagement for the museum such as podcasts, animation films, workshops, exhibitions etc.

Eligibility Criteria

• The criteria for eligibility to apply under these programmes are as follows:
  • 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 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 (except for non-profit schools, who can only apply under the Arts-Integrated Projects in Schools category of the Arts Education programme).
  • 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.

Application Requirements

• A proposal briefly describing the project that could be developed from the visual and textual materials mentioned above. The description 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 description should comprise the vision, processes, and outcomes from that project. Please send them a document with links and not attachments.
• You can write your proposal in any Indian language, including English.

For more information, visit IFA.