Goa Open Arts is pleased to announce the 3 recipients of the Catalyst Grants and Engage Grants 2023-24. In our continuing support to the artistic community of Goa, the Catalyst Grant is endowing a bursary of INR 100,000 each to two collectives for developing a new art project focussed on installation. Rah Naqvi, Ali Monis Naqvi and Srishti Roshan, who will be working together on a multimedia project on the themes of belonging and territory. The second collective, ‘Otherworlds’, is led by Arko and Sohil Soni, and explores ideas of placemaking and changing identities in the state of Goa.
The Engage Grant is providing an endowment of INR 100,000 to a project that is using creative practice to involve and benefit a local commune has been awarded to The BGirls - a collective of break dancers looking to empower and connect with communities of young women through the power of movement and expression..
In addition to the monetary support and access to mentorship opportunities, the grantees will have their work exhibited at the next Goa Open Arts public programme scheduled to take place in February 2024.
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CATALYST GRANT 2023-24 AWARDEES
Other Worlds
A multidisciplinary design practice directed by Arko (He/She/It). Being an architect and a passionate visual artist, Arko founded the studio in 2020 and has been based out of Goa since then. His sole vision is to break the norm of stereotyped spaces and seek to identify the unconventional irregular opportunities. The work cross pollinates between art and architecture in both spatial and visual domains in the real, virtual and speculative worlds. As the name suggests an alternative to a set of predetermined values or systems, the practice is heavily informed from the beliefs of creating an all-inclusive queer affirmative society. It exists to defy the hierarchical power structures predominant in the design community by forming values on inclusivity, sharing and co-creation.
Sohil Soni (He/him) is a freelance writer and architect. Having worked with Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and The Busride Design Lab/Studio, he has started his independent practice by the name Open fields. He is currently living and practising in Goa.
Sohil will be collaborating with Arko, as part of the studio Otherworlds to ideate and execute the proposed installation with the help of the Grant.​
Ali Monis Naqvi, Rah Naqvi, Srishti Roshan
This is team of three artists with different areas of expertise. Their interests overlap in many facets and have culminated in exchanges that enrich our practices collectively. A major incentive for them in this project is to initiate and create a means of knowledge production, and circulation, that is accessible and buildable.
Ali Monis Naqvi (he/him): Ali Monis Naqvi is a lens-based artist currently based out of Goa. His work is often about the unseen in our daily lives. The underlying theme in his personal work is about his relationship with the spaces he has grown up in and all the other locations he is travelling to–with a subtle commentary on the political climate in India. Ali’s work has been published in The Caravan, Berlingske-Denmark, Vogue India, Kapital-Slovakia, and Weekendavisen to name a few.
Rah Naqvi (they/he): an Indian artist, based in Mumbai/Amsterdam. Their work engages in narratives themed around religious and societal polarisation, centring art and their tool for activism.
Srishti Roshan (they/them): a potter and sculptor based out of Goa. They create sculptural art that showcases the versatility of clay through work that is realistic and tactile, which is very important in an age of hyper-digital consumption.
ENGAGE GRANT 2023-24 AWARDEES
The BGirls
The 4 artists/athletes coming together for this project have known each other for close to a decade. They are all from the early generations of BGirls in India. BGirl FlowRaw and BGirl Jo are among the first Indians to represent the country Internationally and have been learning, competing, contributing, and judging across the country since 2014. BGirl MGK is the quietest, yet projects volumes through her style of movement and BGirl BarB packs suitcases twice her size for even 3 day trips and is one of India's Breaking Scenes youngest National Champion.
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The BGirl Project for the Engage Grant entails community building through a series of learning sessions and workshops engaging girls from the local community around Bardez - to explore, connect, and delve into the sociocultural subtext of being a female in sport and Hip-hop in India.
