FolkConnect Fellowship

OVERVIEW

FolkConnect was a programme run by Project Folklog that aimed to pair up and develop exciting collaborations between artists across the UK and folk artists in India. For this first edition of FolkConnect, Project Folklog in partnership with British Council India invited UK-based artists to submit applications responding to traditional Indian folk art forms such as Folk musicians or practitioners of traditional/classical arts, Performing artists (including modern art forms: dancers, storytellers, musicians, theatre practitioners, etc) and Visual artists (including photographers, painters, and graphic designers).

This project was a pilot and looked to engage with three different pairs of artists. The aim was to revive folk art forms and to support long-lasting relationships between these countries. Each artist was given an honorarium to take part in the project. Project Folk Log also provided a platform for sharing in the form of an established digital festival with global contemporary audiences.

Each UK artist was paired up with an Indian folk artist from Project Folklog’s network. The programme was a virtual residency of 4 months and culminated in a showcase at the Folk Log International Festival in March 2021.

Each virtual performance piece, emerging from the collaborations between the UK and Indian artists, was around 10-15 minutes long.