Open Call: Space118 Fine Arts Grant

SPACE118 FINE ART GRANT : 2019-2020

Space118 aims to provide emerging independent artists and art writers with a platform to showcase their work and grow within a diverse art community in India. We wish to be a part of creating the future of the next best artist and talent pool in the country.

We are happy to announce and mark the 10 years of Space118 with the launch of the Space 118 Fine Arts Grant, 2019-20. The Grant will be provided to only ONE selected artist for a eight week  residency from 1st November, 2019- 8th January, 2020 at Space118. This would include a production grant of upto one lakh rupees along with travel and accommodation. The recipient also gets a eight week exhibition in January and February, 2020, which is scheduled during the Mumbai Gallery Weekend in Mumbai.

Residencies form the core of Space118’s work. We support and facilitate the professional development of cultural practitioners at all levels of their career, from emerging to established art professionals. We provide residents with a platform to incubate their ideas and showcase them to their international peers and the general public. It aims to provide young artists a forum for experimentation and interaction with the larger creative community, and attempts to create a network of diverse artists across mediums and disciplines.

Based near the arts district in the heart of Mumbai in a warehousing compound, the property includes flexible space for living and working. Our residency programme focuses on critical issues in contemporary art as well as everyday life. Our programmes bring together practitioners from around  India and the world exploring common ideas and practices. We have worked with a range of partner institutions to create residency opportunities for cultural practitioners abroad.

This will be one of the pioneering programmes in our roster, functioning as a unique residency model that closely curates artists at the start of their professional careers. The Space118 Fine Arts Grant programme is populated with artists’ visits and interactions, studio visits and curated exhibition walkthroughs for the winner to have a gamut of art-related experiences and exposure. The aim of theSpace118 Fine Arts Grant programme is to provide infrastructure, inspiration and mentorship to emerging artists and art practices.

The recipient for 2019-20 will be chosen by a jury that comprises of prominent members of the industry including Shilpa Gupta, Mortimer Chatterjee and Anurag Khanna.

Shilpa Gupta,  (b. 1976, India) studied at Sir J. J. School of Art (Sculpture). She has had solo shows at Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, OK Center for Contemporary Art in Linz and Arnolfini in Bristol and has participated in biennales in Venice, Berlin, Kochi, Lyon, Gwangju, Havana, Yokohama, Liverpool amongst others. Her work has been shown in Moma, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New Museum and Mori Museum.

Mortimer Chatterjee (b. 1975, UK) received his Masters in the History of Indian Art and Architecture from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He moved to Mumbai in 2001 while working for British auction house Bowring’s. In 2003, he began Chatterjee & Lal along with his wife, Tara Lal. Based in Colaba’s art district of Mumbai, the gallery’s program is now focused both on the work of emerging artists and historical material. In the last ten years the gallery has been witness to groundbreaking shows by artists, such as Rashid Rana, Nikhil Chopra and Hetain Patel. Mortimer’s recent academic projects have included a co-authored publication on the art collection of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research along with an exhibition of that collection at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai. He has also been the art consultant for the Taj Group of Hotels for more than 12 years.

Anurag Khanna,  was awarded the title of “Young Collector of the Year” by Forbes Art Award India in 2014, the self-taught art enthusiast is one of the few Indian art collectors who collects video art extensively. Anurag has earned the reputation of being a risk taker and has become one of the few collectors in India, who has dedicated a significant portion of his collection to experimental practices and video art. Given his relative distance from the artworld in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, his vision seems that much more impressive.