About IFA
India Foundation for the Arts
The Foundation
India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is an independent, nationwide, not-for-profit organisation that makes grants and implements projects across research, practice, and education in the arts and culture in India. Established as a public charitable trust in 1993 and headquartered in Bengaluru, IFA has been funding projects since 1995 — making it the first independent and professionally managed grant-making organisation for the arts in the country.
IFA operates as a facilitator, catalyst, and provocateur in the field, supporting critical investigations, explorations, and experiments that push the boundaries of knowledge and practice, and challenge dominant narratives. Its work focuses on unheard voices and untold stories, often ignored or erased — especially encouraging work in Indian languages other than English.
Five Programmes
IFA supports and implements projects under five key programmes. Each programme undergoes periodic review to respond to changing trends in the arts, public discourse, and the wider cultural landscape.
Arts Research
Critical inquiry into the various histories and expressions of artistic practices in India, fostering broader perspectives and understandings across disciplines.
Arts Practice
Enabling artists to challenge prevalent idioms and conventions, counter market norms, and push new boundaries in content, form, and medium.
Arts Education
Placing the school teacher at the centre — supporting arts-based training and grants for teachers and artists at government schools across and beyond Karnataka.
Archives & Museums
Energising museums and archives as platforms for dialogue and discourse, encouraging new public engagement with collections and cultural materials.
Project 560
Named after Bengaluru's pin code — encouraging artists, scholars, institutions, and citizens to engage creatively and critically with the city.
Platform Bengali & Arts Research
Platform Bengali (2020–2025) is a Foundation Project implemented by IFA under its Arts Research programme. The programme supports scholars, researchers, and practitioners undertaking research into the various histories and expressions of artistic practices in India — with particular emphasis on projects that blur disciplinary boundaries, foster dialogue between theory and practice, and utilise interdisciplinary approaches.
Projects funded under Arts Research are expected to have clear objectives, thorough background research, critical inquiries, rigorous methodologies, and specific publicly shared outcomes such as books, essays, films, websites, or multimedia exhibitions. Platform Bengali's investigation of Bengali language practices across digital platforms — from YouTube creators to machine translation — exemplifies this commitment to expanding what constitutes arts research beyond conventional academic frameworks.
The IFA Archive
In 2018, IFA established The IFA Archive — a dedicated repository for preserving materials from its supported projects. The archive comprises digital materials from over 500 projects and physical collections from over 700 projects, accessible by appointment at IFA's Bengaluru headquarters and through its online portal. When Platform Bengali concludes, its research outputs will become part of this growing archive, preserved alongside three decades of arts research from across the country.
The arts and culture are essential to our individual and community lives, and for a more equitable and just world. We support critical work that challenges dominant narratives and speaks truth to power.
Visit IFA at indiaifa.org