No bar for art

Through 2020, we've realised that reinventing practices across sectors - from education to art - is key. Physical exhibitions, classes, and workshops seem nowhere in sight in the foreseeable future at least in our country and thus we can't help but adapt and evolve. Reflecting on this change is a new three-month online residency for Indian cultural practitioners. Conceptualised by Pollinator, an experimental agency, and curated by Delhi-based arts educator Shaleen Wadhwana, the initiative is titled Virtual Nursery and is themed around fissure - "a state of incompatibility or disagreement or the beginning of a crack" - that encapsulates the times we live in.

The residency has been three months in the making and applications for it are now open. Through September to November, three residents get to immerse themselves in curriculum-based guided intervention; a reading list for the same has been made available online, and can be accessed by anyone. Selected residents will also have access to study circles and industry peer group sessions. For entries, one can submit media ranging from artwork, poetry and prose to audio and video files. Each resident gets a fund of Rs 25,000.

Artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra of the duo Thukral & Tagra, who are part of the Pollinator team, share that the project is more action-oriented as opposed to reactionary. "The news changes every three days; for instance, one day you'll see a news report on how the pandemic is shaping into something else. So, in no way will you be able to make sense of it in one go," Tagra says. Wadhwana, emphasising that it was important to keep the theme wide enough for interpretation, also highlights how the initiative has removed the traditional barriers residencies are associated with. "Age is not a barrier, and neither is the choice of medium. We're also not asking for CVs and portfolios. So, we're shifting the needle a little bit and offering a flatter playing ground."

Last date to submit August 15
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