Call for Proposals | Mrinalini Mukherjee Creative Arts Grant 2024-25

The Mrinalini Mukherjee Creative Arts Grant is an annual visual arts grant aimed at supporting the work of an Indian artist/collective who has shown consistent engagement with shifting contexts within contemporary art, and is looking to experiment and push their practice beyond the familiar. The grant will enable them to explore fresh ideas and develop a new body of work, and continue contributing to the field of visual arts with greater creative, technical and intellectual proficiency.

The grant recognizes the need for artists to take risks and try out new ideas, expressions and methods, as they make material and conceptual transitions in their practice.

Open to Indian artists in their mature phase of work - i.e., with 15 years and more of practice (not including graduate/post graduate years).

Applicants need to submit -

1. A Project Proposal, with budget and timeline, for projects with a maximum budget of Rs. 10 lakhs (PDF, max. 10MB)

2. Portfolio (PDF, max. 10MB)

3. Biodata/CV (PDF, max. 10MB)

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The vision for Mrinalini Mukherjee Creative Arts Grant is inspired by the boldness and ingenuity of Mrinalini Mukherjee herself, who constantly experimented with materials and concepts, unhampered by dominant trends, while developing fresh aesthetic assertions. Initially trained as a painter, her love for the three-dimensional form led her to explore new materials and methods throughout her life. Informed by diverse references, from traditional Indian and European sculpture, folk art, textiles and crafts, and the ideology of modernism, she developed a complex visual and conceptual language that didn’t adhere to easy categorization. After working intensively with fibre for more than two decades she made a conscious shift towards ceramics and bronze, pushing the envelope in terms of creative process, form, meaning and concept.

Growing up with artist parents Benode Behari and Leela Mukherjee, Mrinalini continued working with the deep commitment to creative excellence and innovation that was central to their lives as artists and teachers. Like them she drew inspiration from not only the great masters, but remained aware of the versatility and creative potential of living traditions and always looked to nature for inspiration. Even as established artists they remained lifelong learners, studying and honing their skills every step of the way.

What will the grant support?

The grant will support practitioners of visual arts to embark on an artistic project that foregrounds innovation and experimentation. The grant will give priority to proposals that clearly indicate how it will benefit their practice and highlight the new directions that the artists are looking to explore.

If you are applying as a collective, the primary applicant can fill in their name and details in the application form. The details of the others in the collective can be included in the CV section.

Who is eligible?

- Visual artists including but not limited to those engaged in painting, sculpture, mural, textile, printmaking, performance art, lens and media-based art.

- Individual artists or collectives with more than 15 years of practice (not including graduate/post graduate years).

- Indian artists - An ‘Indian artist’ is defined for the purpose of this grant as an artist with Indian citizenship who is currently residing in India. In the case of a collective, all members need to be Indian artists.

Who is not eligible? 

- Those who don’t fall under the definition of ‘Indian artist’ as given above. That would include, Non Resident Indians (NRI), Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) are not eligible to apply for this grant. 

- Indian artists who are currently residing outside India. 

- Artists / collectives with less than 15 years of practice.

What about collaborations?

- If the the project is being developed in collaboration with another organisation, then full information should be provided about the collaboration and nature of support.

- Applicants must also clearly delineate the work that will be accomplished with the MMF's grant.

- Private galleries cannot be collaborators. 

What does the grant support?

- The grant amount will support project expenses including costs towards research, domestic travel, documentation, material for artworks, local transportation of artworks, payment towards services including professional services, assistant and labour, and hiring of equipment. 

- The budget for the project can go up to INR 10lakhs. 

- A provision for personal allowance can be made in the budget and should not exceed 25% of budgeted amount.

What does the grant not support?

- The grant will not support the purchase of equipment such as laptops, cameras or projectors. Applicants are requested to keep such expenses under personal allowance and not include it under project expenses.
- The grant does not support or account for an exhibition at the end of the grant period. Kindly do not include installation costs for exhibitions.

- The grant does not support any foreign travel. 

How will the grant be given?

- The grant will be given to the grantee only after the mutual signing of an MoU which will include the finalised proposal for the project, with timeline and budget. 

- The grant amount will be given in two equal installments - first, at the start of the grant period, and second, after the submission of the interim report.

What are the deliverables?

- The grantee will need to submit a final report with documentation of their work, and outline how the grant enabled them to explore new ideas, experiment with materials/mediums, redirect their practice, and evolve as an artist. 

- The grantee will be invited to make a public presentation of their project as per the programming schedule of MMF.

THE SELECTION - Jury

The Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation will invite an independent jury to help with the review process and selection of the grantee. The jury will include eminent personalities from the field of creative arts including artists, curators, institutional leaders, educators, and collectors, along with a member of MMF.

Application deadline - 31 January 2025