Call for Projects
IARTS TEXTILES OF INDIA GRANT
Application Deadline: 15.05.2024
© Royal Ontario Museum
Timeline
- January 1, 2024 Call for proposals open
- May 15, 2024 Deadline to submit proposals
- June 15, 2024 Notice of decision
- July 2024 Funds made available
About the Grant
The IARTS Textiles of India Grant supports a project on Indian textile arts. This biennial grant of $15,000 CAD can be used anywhere in the world by anyone in the world toward a project that enhances knowledge about Indian textiles, dress, or costume. Applicants can include scholars, curators, educators, community leaders, artists and enthusiasts. Projects can be research-based or creative, and must further the preservation, documentation, encouragement, improvement, interpretation, or revival of Indian textile arts towards enhancing a critical awareness about their history and/or future. Through the support of such activities, the grant is meant to encourage cultural understanding, institutional collaboration, and public engagement.
The award has two components:
- A project on Indian textiles, which can include research in any institution or collection, fieldwork, apprenticeship, revival activities, creative work or interpretation. Maximum of $15,000.
- A public program related to the project presented in Toronto, Canada or online at the end of the award period, which can include a lecture or workshop, a publication, an online exhibition or resource, an installation, a performance, or any combination of these. The details of this program can be discussed further with museum staff after the grant has been awarded. In the application, we are interested in your vision for a public outcome that can be put together by the end of the grant period. Maximum of $7000 is available for this part, which is separate from the $15,000 grant. Program funds will be directly administered by the ROM. Please note that the mounting of a physical exhibition does not fall within the budget. ROM can provide invitation letters for travel to Toronto but cannot guarantee visas; international applicants should plan to apply 4-6 months in advance. If the grant facilitates the production of artwork, ROM reserves the right of first refusal to acquire the artwork.
Eligibility
The award can be made to a person or a group of people. It is open to residents of any country, 18 years and older.
Level of Award
A grant of $15,000 CAD is given for the proposed project. The grant can be used for direct expenses related to the project such as transportation, visas, accommodation, supplies, equipment. Fees for professional services (such as videographer, translator) are allowed up to $5000. Applicants without full-time employment are allowed a stipend up to $5000. Please note that you will be asked to submit a report about halfway through the grant period and an account of how project grant funds are spent will be required at the end of the grant period, with original receipts wherever possible. The award does not cover travel for the applicant's students, installation costs for a museum exhibition, or top-up of regular salaries.
Award Selection Criteria
- Applicant's demonstrated history of engagement with and passion for Indian textiles
- Originality and innovativeness of the project, especially toward new perspectives, sources, or methodologies in the field of Indian textiles
- Rigour of the project
- Care and clarity of objectives and design of the project
- The viability of the project within the time frame and budget, and how prepared the applicant is to carry out the project
- The contribution of the project to the applicant’s personal or professional development
- The impact of the project on wider audiences and communities
- Letters of support
Application Materials
- Click here for application form DOC or PDF.
- Completed 2024 Application form. 7 pages max.
- 2-page resume for the lead applicant(s). If more than one lead applicant, please designate who will be responsible for communication, reporting, and budget.
- Supporting letter(s) from institutions, organizations, or individuals with whom you plan to carry out the project. If working with makers, ensure the project is co-produced with them.
- 2 reference letters in support of the project and lead applicant(s), emailed separately and directly to iarts@rom.on.ca by the deadline.
- Please submit all applications materials and queries to iarts@rom.on.ca
Origins
Inspired by a passionate ROM volunteer, the IARTS Textiles of India Fund celebrates the splendour and influence of Indian textile arts in perpetuity. The Fund was created in honour of Arti Chandaria (1960–2015), whose first love was textiles—each one she wore had a story. Born in Bombay, Arti was first moved by her father’s textile export business. As a new Canadian, she galvanized the community to raise $3 million to establish the Curatorship of South Asian Visual Culture, the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery, and to fund new acquisitions. "IARTS" was the name of a community arts newsletter that she founded. She always liked how it incorporated the word "art" and the letters of her name.