New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) The Serendipity Arts Foundation and Les Rencontres d’Arles have announced the second edition of the biggest photography, video and new media grant, supported by the French Institute in India/Embassy of France in India, with the shared purpose of promoting cultural practices in South Asia.
The grant amount going to the winner this year will be of 15,000 euros and will support lens-based practitioners from South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The open call for entries began on January 30, and the process of receiving applications will close on March 15.
Sunil Kant Munjal, Founder and Patron, Serendipity Arts, said, “This grant is the coming together of Serendipity Arts and Rencontres d’Arles to jointly support lens-based practitioners and to promote the diverse creative expressions of the South Asian region. The first edition of the grant showed us the possibilities emerging from this association and the second edition will show our commitment to back and support artists from the region and help promote their work on a global scale.”
Christoph Wiesner, Director, Rencontres d’Arles, added, “I am very happy to continue this collaboration. The SAG offers the winner, through its exhibition, international visibility and possibilities of exchange with the lens-based practice and allows the professional and the general public of the festival to discover and deepen the richness of the South Asian scene.”
A jury comprising artists, authors, Foundation directors, and personalities from diverse artistic domains, will review the proposals and shortlist five artists. The first stage will recognise and support five artists with a grant of Rs 70,000. Along with receiving a part of the grant, these five shortlisted candidates will also be given the opportunity to showcase their work at the upcoming edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival, scheduled to take place later in the year in Goa, India.
Finally, at the 2023 festival, the same jury will unanimously declare the finalist, from among the five previously shortlisted artists, who would then receive a grant of 15,000 euros, to develop the project and show the final presentation at Rencontres d’Arles, France, in 2024.
–IANS
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