India Foundation for the Arts in collaboration with the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum (VITM)
(National Council of Science Museums) invites applications for a Museum Fellowship Application deadline: December 15, 2017
This initiative is supported by TATA TRUSTS
India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) in collaboration with the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Bangalore invites applications for a Museum Fellowship for a period of one year.
The Archival and Museum Fellowships initiative of IFA began with the two-fold objective of providing practitioners with an opportunity to generate new, critical and creative approaches to public engagement with collections in archives and museums, and to energise these spaces as platforms for discussion and debate. This is the first collaboration between IFA and a Science Museum to develop dialogues between the fields of arts and science and facilitate interdisciplinary practices.
About the Museum:
Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum (VITM) is a landmark in Bangalore for science enthusiasts and tourists. The Museum has a rich collection of science and technology objects such as measuring instruments, sewing machines, engines, locomotives, weights and measures, and optical recorders. It also houses communication devices—transmitting and receiving equipment, wire recorders, gramophone recorders and players, radio receivers, telephone exchanges and telephone instruments. In addition, the museum is a repository of engines ranging from aircraft engines, steam engines, oil engines to hot air engines and locomotives. VITM is the southern headquarters of the National Council of Science Museums, an autonomous body under the purview of Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The main objective of the museum is to popularise Science and Technology through interactive exhibits, exhibitions and non-formal education activities.
About the Fellowship:
The fellowship offers creative practitioners a new set of materials to work with—scientific and technological objects located in a science institution. We hope these objects can be used in engaging and creative ways, and present new perspectives of seeing and interpreting the world. The important feature of this fellowship is to engage with the local community. The awardee will be responsible for curating an exhibition and presenting the collection through a series of activities such as talks, workshops and other public programmes over a period of one year.
Applicant profile:
We seek applications from curators, historians, visual artists, researchers and other creative practitioners with prior curatorial experience and a strong interest in research and working with museum collections. We also encourage applicants to think through an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach and method.
Practitioners who are Indian nationals or have been residents of India for five years or more are eligible to apply. To know more about our eligibility criteria please click here.
Financial assistance and other support:
Each fellowship provides an honorarium of Rs 2,00,000/- for a duration of one year. A separate budget will be provided for the final outcome (exhibition and outreach activities).
Important dates:
The deadline for receiving applications is December 15, 2017.
Shortlisted candidates will be informed by the third week of December 2017.
Interviews with shortlisted candidates are expected to take place by the end of December 2017.
The Fellowship will commence from January 15, 2018 for a period of one year.
Application Process:
Your application must include:
- A brief description of an exhibition and public programmes you could develop from the collection at the VITM. The description should include your vision, approach and possible outcomes of the programmes. The intention is to give us an idea of how you would like to approach this project.
- A letter of interest explaining how you would benefit from this Museum Fellowship. Please identify aspects of your practice that you think will be honed and further developed during the course of the Fellowship.
- A brief description of a project you have been involved with as a curator, arts practitioner or researcher. Please include documentation of the project including six to eight scanned or printed images with titles and dates, DVD (maximum duration of four minutes), catalogues, artworks, performances, or reviews.
- Your curriculum vitae.
Please address your application or any queries to [email protected]
Please also post the required documents to IFA in an envelope marked 'VITM Fellowship' by December 15, 2017.
VITM Museum Fellowship
India Foundation for the Arts
'Apurva', Ground Floor,
No 259, 4th Cross, RMV 2nd Stage, 2nd Block
Bangalore - 560 094