Research Blogs & Archives

The Arts Research programme, recognises the value of different and flexible approaches to research in the arts. Under this programme, we implement projects that explore forms of knowing and thinking that are rooted in creative, scholarly and/ or cultural practice, and bring out diverse perspectives on histories and expressions of artistic practice in India to foster a deeper understanding of the arts through enquiry, interaction, reflection, and experimentation.

Duration of the Project
A minimum duration of one year and a maximum of 18 months.

Budget: Up to Rs 5,00,000/-

Deadline: 10 August 2026

For details, see here: https://indiaifa.org/whats-new/ar-rfp-may2026.html

The Arts Practice programme seeks to implement projects that expand artists’ current practices in new directions. These could question accepted conventions, push new frontiers in content, form, and medium, explore new modes of engagement with space, audience, and communities, foregrounding a spirit of experimentation.

Under the Arts Practice programme, we invite proposals for Productions that emerge from such a quest for creative explorations. The proposals may encompass various forms such as performance, sound, visual arts, digital creations, literature, or interdisciplinary work that combine these elements. We encourage Production proposals that extend beyond documentary or fictional film production and welcome proposals for theatre, dance, and music performances; installations; exhibitions; publications such as books or zines; moving-image presentations; games; digital artworks; and any other innovative forms yet to be conceived.

Duration of the project: Up to 18 months

Budget: Up to a maximum of Rs 5,00,000/-

Who can apply?

• Performing artists working in music, sound, text, dance, movement, theatre, puppetry, storytelling, magic, circus, and other performance arts
• Visual artists working across all forms, including film (documentary and fiction), animation, photography, installation, new media, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, interactive arts, gaming, painting, sculpture, printmaking, comic book, graphic narrative, artist book, and other visual arts
• Curators, especially those working outside of the gallery context
• Poets, novelists, and playwrights working with literary arts
• Practitioners engaged in interdisciplinary work

Call for proposal deadline: 5 June  2026

For details, please see here: https://indiaifa.org/whats-new/ap-rfp-pr-april2026.html

The Centre for Wildlife Studies is partnering with VM Salgaocar Corporation Pvt. Ltd. to support organizations working at the intersection of wildlife research, technology, and applied conservation through initiatives that generate solutions for biodiversity protection.

The Wild Incubator Research Program is designed to foster innovative projects that combine strong scientific foundations with meaningful on-ground impact, helping address critical conservation priorities across the Western Ghats, with a special focus on Goa.

Focus areas include:
1. Applied, solution-oriented research with demonstrable conservation outcomes
2. Endemic species conservation relevance in Western Ghats
3. Habitat protection
4. Wildlife monitoring
5. Species conservation
6. Human–wildlife coexistence
7. Community-based conservation initiatives

The program will support studies on endemic species of conservation significance in the Western Ghats, including but not limited to the Slender Loris, Mugger Crocodile, and King Cobra.

This program will support up to 3 conservation projects, with grants of ₹10,00,000 each.

Selected projects will receive:

1. Scientific mentorship and technical guidance from the CWS and its partners.
2. Support for project implementation and development.
3. Ongoing engagement to strengthen conservation outcomes and scalability.

Applications will undergo a transparent and merit-based evaluation process, including proposal screening, expert review, and jury evaluation. If your organization is working on innovative wildlife research with direct conservation relevance, we encourage you to apply and be part of this initiative.

For details, see here: https://cwsindia.org/wild-incubator-research/

The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art and Serendipity Arts Foundation are excited to present the second edition of the collaborative project—Futures in Formation: A Public Art Programme —supporting artistic projects by Indian artists (individuals and collectives) working with a variety of publics, communities, and environments.

The Programme harnesses the enthusiasm of both FICA and SAF, institutions deeply committed to making a significant opportunity available to the field of art practice in India. It seeks to strengthen and streamline how public art practices are presented in the present moment. It aims to bring together critical imaginations and dialogues, citing encounters and engagements within expanded notions of what constitutes the public realm today.

The program will support fellows in developing their proposed public arts projects through research, production, dissemination, and other mobilisation routes as required.

It will entail financial support of Rs. 3 Lakh each for the project detailed in their application, covering the program period (1st June 2026 to 31st March 2027).

Call for proposal deadline: 20 April  2026

For details, please see here: https://ficart.org/futures-in-formation-public-art-programme-2026

The Arts Practice programme seeks to implement projects that expand artists’ current practices in new directions. These could question accepted conventions, push new frontiers in content, form, and medium, explore new modes of engagement with space, audience, and communities, foregrounding a spirit of experimentation.

Under the Arts Practice programme, we invite proposals for Explorations that probe, test, and play with ideas nascent, risky, or unprecedented. These may not necessarily lead to an outcome. Such explorations could include thumbnailing, scribbling, scriptwriting, location scouting, animatics, jamming, storyboarding, rehearsing, sampling, robotics, lab explorations, and other forms of exploratory work used to examine ideas.

Duration of the project: Up to six months

Budget: Up to a maximum of Rs 1,00,000/-

Who can Apply?

We invite proposals from practitioners working within and across disciplines.

Call for proposal deadline: 30 April  2026

For details, please see here: https://indiaifa.org/whats-new/ap-rfp-ex-march2026.html

The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation, invites applications for the Emerging Artists Award (EAA+), a collective forum that will support 10 art practitioners through a financial grant of Rs 100,000 each, a mentorship programme, and an exhibition component.

Submission deadline: 28 February 2026

See here for more details: https://ficart.org/eaa-2026-open-call

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), in collaboration with the Women of Vaastukala Archive, India, invites applications for IFA-Women of Vaastukala 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.

Call for proposal deadline: 12 February 2026

For details, please see here: https://indiaifa.org/whats-new/amp-rfp-ifa-wov-january2026.html

The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, in collaboration with Royal Enfield, is pleased to announce the third edition of The Himalayan Fellowship for Creative Practitioners (2025–26). The Fellowship invites applications from creative practitioners working across mediums at the intersection of ecology and cultural knowledge, based in the Western and Eastern Himalayan regions, including the eight Northeastern states.

The year-long Fellowship will support selected projects with an amount of up to 3 Lakh each.

Submission deadline: 15 December 2025

For more details, see here: https://ficart.org/thf-opencall-3