Research Grant

Overview

The Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation (SSAF) and Asia Art Archive (AAA) in India announce the SSAF–AAA Research Grant for 2024. This grant supports the digitisation, documentation, and public accessibility of recent art histories in the region through innovative archival practices and research methods.

Grant Objectives

• Innovative Methodologies: Identify, document, research, and annotate materials previously inaccessible and precarious under changing political climates.
• Research Avenues: Explore histories within broader discursive fields, regional contexts, and image-making politics.
• Public Accessibility: Support projects aiming for both long- and short-term public availability of materials.
• Creative Interpretation: Encourage new connections between print cultures, intellectual histories, visual arts, and marginalized movements.

Grant Focus for 2024

Proposals should examine how diverse print and visual cultural materials—journals, magazines, posters, pamphlets, books, ephemera—contributed to and were embedded in cultural politics. Preference will be given to materials in regional languages that are out of circulation and not in public collections.

Selection Priorities

• Inaccessible Materials: Focus on print and visual cultural materials not available in public collections, particularly in regional languages.
• Interdisciplinary Research: Use innovative methodologies with clear objectives and outcomes.
• Feasibility: Ensure the proposed research can be completed within the grant duration.

Application Process

Eligibility: Indian nationals residing in India, or collectives with Indian members, with relevant qualifications or professional experience.

Deadline: 16 Sep 2024

Duration: 1 Nov 2024–31 Oct 2025

Grant Amount: Up to INR 3,00,000

Deliverables: Propose research deliverables such as a digitized archive or visual essay, with methods for public accessibility.

Grant Process and Afterlife

Reports: Submit one midterm report (1,500–2,000 words) and one final report (3,500–5,000 words) outlining the research process and key findings.

Presentations:

• Interim: Closed-door presentation after the midterm report.
• Public: Public presentation at the end of the grant period.

Application Requirements

• Application Form: Details of the applicant and project.
• Documents:
  • Two-page CV and relevant publications or research projects.
  • Project proposal detailing the research, methodologies, sources, collections, and interlocutors involved.
  • Up to ten images of proposed research material.
  • Tentative timeline and budget.

Submit applications by Monday, 16 September 2024. Contact aaaigrant@aaa.org.hk for questions or clarifications.

About SSAF

The Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation, established in 2016, carries forward the legacy of Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, Amrita Sher-Gil, Vivan Sundaram, and Navina Sundaram. SSAF fosters artistic and cultural practices dealing with historical memory and creative independence.

About AAA in India

Asia Art Archive in India, established in 2013 in New Delhi, builds resources for research on the region’s contemporary art scene through digitizing archives, developing research projects, and organizing programs. Its digitized research collections are accessible to the public since 2016.