Lifestyle / NYC’s India Center Foundation Hands Out Big Dollars For Artists Affected By COVID-19

NYC’s India Center Foundation Hands Out Big Dollars For Artists Affected By COVID-19

Lifestyle Jun 05, 2020

by Mrinalini Sundar

New York-based, The India Center Foundation (ICF) announces monetary grants to artists during the COVID-19 crisis. We speak to a few winners as well as with the founding director and board president of ICF Raoul Bhavnani, for all the details on this much needed initiative.

More than 25 million people have lost their jobs amid the COVID crisis, reports NPR. Things are predicted to get worst if the economic conditions don’t improve. Artists also fall under this category. With no funds, the community is struggling to make ends meet. That’s when The India Center Foundation launched The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund (SAARF), a grant program for the South Asian-American artists and arts workers who have been impacted by the economic fallout of COVID-19. From filmmakers to performance and visual artists to writers and musicians, the grantees trace their roots to South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, and India) and represent its culture through their art in the US.

India Center Foundation raises a grant to be awarded to emerging artists in the US. — **India Center Foundation Hands Out Big Dollars For Artists During The COVID-19 Crisis: ICF raises a grant to be awarded to emerging artists in the US.** Photo Credit: https://theindiacenter.us

But what does the ICF do? Well, it is an American nonprofit organization with its headquarters in New York. The organization aims to support and organize a wide range of events to encourage the South Asian artist diaspora in the US.

Raoul Bhavnani, founder and board president of ICF tells us how the idea came up. “ICF has been around for the past four years. The idea of the foundation came over multiple cups of coffee and wine. We were a group of Indian-Americans all in their mid-career who realized that there are not many institutes who support young artists,” Raoul explained. “There are several NGOs and organizations but they are all a little too fragmented. We observed this fragmentation and launched ICF which focuses on the arts and creative space broadly. We also realized that there were several philanthropic activities taking place but they were all redirected back to India. While philanthropy of any kind is good, we felt there was a gap in the US that needed to be filled.”

The foundation has been supporting artists from different fields including music, dance, film world, writing, painting, etc. From working with established artists such as (the noted tabla player) Zakir Hussain to emerging artists — ICF works with creatives of all kinds. “We support and encourage creators who are crossing boundaries, working with other art forms, are collaborating with other artists, are struggling to create a name for themselves, and are in the initial stage of their career,” says Raoul.

The organization boasts of working with some very renowned institutes including Lincoln Center, the Museum of the Moving Image, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the other hand, some events are also held at private homes in an intimate setting. Though India Center Foundation is a virtual organization, the organization also works with different cities across the country.

**India Center Foundation Hands Out Big Dollars For Artists During The COVID-19 Crisis: ICF raises a grant to be awarded to emerging artists in the US. A picture from an event organized by ICF.** Photo Credit: https://theindiacenter.us

Coming back to The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund, the foundation they started with seed fund of $20,000 USD collected by members. Which then grew from there. “We’ve had 120 applicants from 19 states so far for round one, and though their contributions to culture and society are invaluable, their reported income loss from this pandemic, collectively, hovers around $1.5 million USD,” says Raoul adding, “Our goal is to provide $500,000 USD in grants to South Asian-American artists and arts workers of all disciplines, in order to help them continue creating work that embodies South Asian culture, while also supporting their livelihoods.”

Interestingly, Raoul shares that the India Center Foundation has helped create a dialogue between the South Asian and American diaspora. “We are a platform, and we are bringing work to life, we are starting a conversation, and advocating for identity and mainstream acceptance of art forms in America,” he says.

We spoke to tabla player Rajesh Bhandari, whose 20-year career has seen him perform with the likes of Ustad Zakir Hussain, Falu Shah, and Shakira. “When I had received the knowledge of being awarded the grant, I felt quite honoured and blessed to be recognized by such an organization and quite excited to begin working on a new project and the potential to make art with a meaningful impact,” Rajesh enthused. “As for the grant, I plan on using it to create an album of original compositions that I hope will help us all to cope with the current stresses that we may be experiencing right now. I plan to create soothing, calming yet evocative and poignant musical landscapes for the listener. I am also planning to compose, arrange and hire a few musicians to join me on the sound adventure which could also help benefit them at a time when we have had to hold off performing at live music venues.” Similarly, Soumya Dhulekar, a cartoonist who was awarded the grant will be using the funds to cover printing costs for a comic that she’s been working on called Homecoming. “The book will illustrate my experience of readjusting to the states after a six-month motherland trip to Mumbai,” she noted.

First Round Winners

Shyam Nepali – Nepali Sarangi artist
Iram Sadaf Padder – Curator, educator and advocate.
Mandeep Sethi – SETI X MC and rap.
Gowri Koneswaran – Writer, performing artist, teacher, and lawyer
Soumya Dhulekar – Cartoonist and illustrator
Rajesh Bhandari – A tabla player and composer
Kasi Aysola – Dancer and choreographer
Spandita Malik – artist and photographer

Second Round Winners

Abhik Mukherjee – Sitar player and teacher
Anula Shetty – Director and editor
Mayomi Basnayaka – Contemporary Artist and Performer
Muhammad Zaman – Artist
Ravi Shankar – Poet, Writer, Editor & Translator
Rippinpal Sindher – Film director, writer, actor and producer
Sanjib Bhattacharya – Dancer and performer
Shivani Thakkar – Dancer/Choreographer/Actor
Tulika Ladsariya – Artist, Arts Administration

As for how long they plan to support artists, Raoul says, “The fund was in response to the pandemic. We are hoping for the pandemic to ease and things to go back to normal life. We hope this is a temporary period and for us to go back to normal events.”

Thank you ICF for stepping up and creating such support for the creative community.

Featured Image picture credit: https://theindiacenter.us

Mrinalini Sundar

Author

Mrinalini Sundar (new_girl_in_to) has worked with various Indian national, international publications including Times Of India and is currently based out of Toronto. She's constantly in search of high adventure, exotic food, and new experiences. She is the happiest amidst mountains, with no wi-fi.

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NYC’s India Center Foundation Hands Out Big Dollars For Artists Affected By COVID-19

by Mrinalini Sundar

Mrinalini Sundar

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