We would like to thank and acknowledge all the applicants who sent in applications for the FICA Public Art Grant 2020. We greatly appreciate the efforts you have put in, and we express our most sincere apologies for the delay in announcing the recipients of the Grant. Given the present situation, we hope to be able to announce our grantees by 21 June, 2021.

Please allow us this time to review your applications. In the meantime, you can write to us at info@ficart.org, and we will respond to any queries or clarifications you might have.

The FICA Team extends their deepest sympathies, prayers and solidarity with everyone currently coping with unimaginable loss.

Please take care and stay safe.

Through the Public Art Grant, FICA has remained committed to supporting a diverse spectrum of public art projects, including but not limited to themes such as the histories of social reform and caste-based movements in India, disrupting accepted notions of gender, performance and the body, ecology and traditional knowledge systems in agrarian relationships, and the idea of publics in urban contexts. These art projects have allowed for socially-engaged artists to experiment and explore elements of encounter and exchange at the intersection of site-specificity, activism and spectatorship, participatory art, and collaborative practice. The FICA Public Art Grant has in many ways aided practitioners in creating and disseminating vocabularies on and around art and its relationship with stratas in public places, moving to engender spaces of interaction, belonging, growth and accessibility. 

The uncertainty and instability brought forth by the year gone by has urged a rethinking and recognition of exigencies in the current moment. We find ourselves with a wealth of occupancies where the tangibility of distance, (im)permanence and new forms of visibility have centered the need to foster adaptability in infrastructure and interaction. FICA has taken this opportunity to contemplate the renewed necessity of systems of support for public art and social re-engagement, keeping with our focus on sustaining and disbursing the Public Art Grant. 

With the evolving specificity of making, sharing, initiating and communicating in a time of multiple crises, we wish to emphasise the possibilities that reside within the expanding idea of publics today while questioning why and how we catalyse interventions that acknowledge the role of contingency in delimiting definitions of public space. Under the aegis of the grant this year, we would like to underscore a revisiting of modes of developing relationships, fostering collaborations, and thinking through the scope of collectivity in the contemporary moment. 

The recipient of the grant, decided by an esteemed jury will receive an amount of Rs 3 Lakh for the project detailed in their application. The grant period consists of a mutually decided start and end date, occurring within the span of one year (1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022). Upon completion of the project, the artist or collective will be required to submit a project report along with complete documentation, and make a final presentation at a public forum.

We invite prospective applicants (both individuals and collectives) to consider the following while applying for the FICA Public Art Grant: 

  • The proposed project must be located in India, and the proposal must ensure adequate details on the location(s). The project can include staging across multiple sites within the country if necessary to the execution of the project. Applicants are advised to consider the feasibility of the same with regard to the grant amount of Rs 3 Lakh and the grant period of one year. 

  • The project should have the specific intention of being sited or staged in the public domain. Applicants are encouraged to reflect upon the nature of publics and public spaces today, and also the pertinence of the virtual and digital in furthering the scope and reach of the project. 

  • Modes of engagement with the public and/or any specific audiences should be clearly defined within the proposal.

  • The project should intend to reflect upon critical issues related to visual arts and the public.

  • The proposal should include as much information about the project as possible, in order to allow FICA and the jury to gain greater clarity about the potential and practicality of the project. Please read through the submission guidelines carefully before submitting your application. 

  • The project should be feasible in terms of costs and scale, and should meet the dates set in the timeline.

Eligibility

  • Individuals or groups may apply.

  • The applicant/s needs to be 18 years or older. 

  • The applicant/s should be an Indian citizen/s, currently residing in India

 Submission Guidelines & Requirements 

Deadline extended to 10 March 2021

Download the Application Form here.

Please ensure your application dossier contains all the requisite documents mentioned below: 

  • Section A - The completed application form.

  • Section B - A 1000-1500 word project proposal.

  • Section C - A detailed budget of the project. 

  • Section D - The timeline of project development.

  • Resume - Current resume of applicant/s.
    a) If applicable, please include a list of projects/works done so far in the public domain, along with images and descriptions.
    b) A maximum of 20 images of recent public art projects can be included as a document. Please do not send images as separate files or attachments. 
    c) For video based work, no more than 10 minutes of video file(s) are allowed.
    d) All video file(s) should be compatible for playback on Windows Media Player/Quicktime Player.

  • All materials should be submitted via Google Drive/WeTransfer/Dropbox to ficapublicartgrant@gmail.com. 

  • Please do not print or courier any material for submission. 

Terms & Conditions 

  • Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Please ensure all the required documents are sent before the deadline. 

  • Shortlisted applicants may be asked to submit further details on their project anytime during the selection process. 

  • The project should be feasible in terms of costs and scale, and should meet the dates set in the timeline. Please note that if the proposed project exceeds the period of one year, FICA will support it only for the duration of the grant period, and not for the entire duration of the project.

  • FICA has the right to disqualify any proposal that it deems as offensive to cultural, social or religious sentiments, as well as projects that fall short of public safety requirements. The decision to support a project is entirely FICA’s discretion.