Announcing the recipients!
The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), in partnership with Royal Enfield, is excited to announce the recipients of the third edition of The Himalayan Fellowship for Creative Practitioners. This unique fellowship program, launched as an initiative in 2023 for the Himalayan belt, supports and empowers creative practitioners working at the intersection of ecology and cultural knowledge in the Western and Eastern Himalayan regions (namely Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Assam and Kalimpong-Darjeeling region of North Bengal).
For this year, our selected creative practitioners are ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ถ, ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป, ๐ก๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ถ, ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ, alongside two collectives: ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป, ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ธ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ, ๐ง๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ถ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ.
For the period of the Fellowship, they will dedicate themselves to their proposed projects that range from investigating the gendered politics of performance, the idyllic imagination of tea gardens, the histories of photo studios in Kashmir and
The Jury for the Fellowship included ๐๐ฟ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐น๐ต๐ผ, ๐ ๐ผ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ท๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ต, ๐๐ฟ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐
About our collaborator:
The oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, Royal Enfield has created beautifully crafted motorcycles since 1901. Paying tribute to the Himalayas, which Royal Enfield has always called as its โspiritual homeโ, the brand is looking to partner 100 Himalayan communities by 2030, with the objective to build resilience in the face of climate change. Alongside, Royal Enfield will encourage one million riders globally to join a movement of driving deep, long-lasting and systemic change in how humans and nature interact and thrive. This commitment is exemplified by the unique partnership with UNESCO, where riders explore the Himalayas, documenting and promoting the rich Intangible Cultural Heritage of local communities. Currently, Royal Enfield supports more than 40 projects across the Indian Himalayan region and is expanding its initiatives.
Fellowship Consultants
Mary Therese Kurkalang is a cultural curator and social researcher with three decades of experience working in publishing, art & culture and the social sector; across India and internationally. An independent consultant since 2012, she has worked intensely in each of the North eastern states of India on social research, creative practices and peace & conflict dialogue forums. Since 2010, she has been part of various advisory boards on Culture, Art, Literature and the Social Sector. A certified Art Management Trainer, she regularly conducts training sessions and lectures on literature, culture, tribal identity and politics. In 2022 she co-curated a programme and exhibition focussing on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Himalayan Region in a partnership with Royal Enfield and UNESCO. She was Director of the Shillong Literary Festival (editions 2021, 2022, 2023). She is currently directing the Brahmaputra Literature Festival (since 2024) and the Sikkim Literature Festival(2025). She is the co-founder of the Rachna Books Writers Residency (launched 2023)