Applications Invited for Arts Research Grant 2026

About the Organization

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is an independent, nationwide, not-for-profit organisation that makes grants and implements projects across research, practice and education in the arts and culture in India, since 1995. We have supported over 950 projects disbursing over Rs 41 crore across the country. The outcomes of these projects—as books, films, performances, exhibitions, games, websites, and archival materials—have been circulating in the public domain through showcases, presentations, seminars, screenings, lecture demonstrations, and festivals, helping widen access and encouraging broader participation in the arts. We believe that the arts and culture are essential to our individual and community lives, and for a more equitable and just world. It gives meaning to our existence and enables us to enquire into our past, critique our present and imagine collective futures. It connects us through shared experiences—to question, resist, and build. The arts makes us human, makes us more. We support critical work that challenges dominant narratives and speaks truth to power. We focus on journeys that seek unheard voices and untold stories, which are often ignored or erased. As a facilitator, catalyst and provocateur in the field, we enable investigations, explorations and experiments that push boundaries of knowledge and practice. We support projects under five key programmes—Arts Research, Arts Practice, Arts Education, Archives and Museums, and Project 560, especially encouraging work in Indian languages other than English.   You can visit The IFA Archive to explore more about the many arts and culture projects supported by IFA over the last 30 years. The IFA Archive is a space, with a website and physical site in Bangalore that houses the diverse outcomes of our work. Learn more at www.theifaarchive.org

About the Grant

The Arts Research programme supports innovative research projects that expand the understanding of arts through creative, scholarly, and cultural practices. The programme encourages projects that challenge conventional research methods, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, amplify marginalised voices, explore artistic histories and practices, and create publicly accessible knowledge resources. Selected projects are implemented by IFA.

Objective

The grant aims to support research projects that: - Explore new approaches to arts research. - Encourage interdisciplinary and practice-based research. - Document and reinterpret artistic histories and cultural practices. - Promote experimentation, dialogue, translation, and public engagement. - Generate knowledge resources accessible to diverse audiences. Who can Apply? We invite proposals from practitioners working within as well as across disciplines. These could include: - 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 (non-fiction and fiction), animation, photography, installation, new media, creative coding, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, interactive arts, gaming/ concept art, painting, sculpture, printmaking, comic books, graphic narrative, artist books, and other visual arts - Curators, especially those working outside of the gallery context - Poets, novelists, short fiction writers, playwrights, film script writers, comics writers, game writers, creative nonfiction writers, working with literary arts - Practitioners engaged in interdisciplinary work

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

- Be Indian citizens (PIO and OCI cardholders are not eligible). - Possess a PAN card. - Have a valid Aadhaar Card, Indian Passport, or Voter ID. - Apply as an individual. - Ensure collaborators, if any, are also Indian nationals. - Not have any pending financial or project obligations with IFA. - Not be currently implementing another IFA project.

Funding organisation: India Foundation for the Arts

Grant announcement listed on NGOBOX. Applications are made to the funding organisation — see the official announcement.