About Praf Publish

2024
2022

2022

One of the focuses of PRAF is bridging the gap between the arts and the social space, and to cultivate new audiences for contemporary art. PRAF Publish was conceptualised to realise the production and publication of an artist book, selected from proposals received from artists by an independent jury. We realise that the print medium, vis a vis affordable artist books with larger print runs, has the potential for wide reach across domestic and public spaces as a form that allows readers to access, hold and handle artworks and there are several artists committed to the medium in the region but few resources that support the realisation of such projects. It would also be a way to encourage visual artists to experiment with the format and tell stories that relate to their larger practice.

Prameya Art Foundation in association with Emami Art and Roli Books and our partners in South Asia, Britto Arts Trust (Bangladesh), Siddhartha Art Foundation (Nepal), Vasl Artists' Association (Pakistan), and Theertha International Artists' Collective (Sri Lanka) invites proposals for artist books from creative practitioners in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

To apply, email your portfolio of previous work (10 pages), a statement indicating your commitment to the form of the artist book and its relevance to your practice, a CV, and a proposal that includes a digital rendition of the first 10-20 pages of the proposed publication. All the required information should be shared as a single PDF file via a Google Drive link or as an attachment to the email.

Proposals for exhibition catalogues and artist monographs will not be considered.
Applications will be shortlisted based on the strength of the proposal, relevance of its subject, formal and conceptual innovation, and feasibility of the proposal within available budgets.
PRAF will support the publication of the book, including production (design, layout, copyediting etc.), printing costs (up to 350,000 INR), distribution in the South Asian region, and artist fees (50,000 INR).
In association with our partner institutions we will shortlist three applications from each country, which will be reviewed by an independent jury who will select the recipient of the grant. The majority decisions of the jury and of the advisory committee on the interpretation of all rules and regulations of the grant, shall be final and legally binding. Reasons will not be given for any such decision by the jury and/or the advisory committee, and they will not enter into any correspondence regarding the merits of any decision.
Roli Books will be publishing and distributing the publication (in South Asia and internationally) developed by the recipient of this grant.
Mentorship will be available from PRAF team and also experienced practitioners including some jury members.
Copyright of all aesthetic and intellectual content presented in the book will remain with the artist.
This opportunity is open to all creative practitioners regardless of age or experience.
Upon selection of the proposal, the recipient will be notified of a timeline and deliverables which will be binding.
Once the recipient of the award confirms that the terms and conditions are acceptable to them, a contractual agreement will be formed between the artist, Roli Books and Prameya Art Foundation detailing this.
At any time after an entry is accepted or after the award has been granted, if a majority of jury members determine that the entry did not comply with the conditions of entry or eligibility, the award may be withdrawn from the recipient of this grant.
If for any reason the recipient of the grant is unable to meet recommended deadlines, the grant will be withdrawn after a notice period and any advance funds transferred to the recipient will need to be reimbursed immediately.
The recipient would also be expected to contribute as required for the publicity of the book and also programs in relation to the launch of the book and/or a workshop on bookmaking or relevant aspects of their practice for emerging practitioners.
The last date for receipt of submissions is 30th September 2024. Applications received after this date will not be considered. The organizers shall not be liable for failure or delay in receipt of entries.
Click here for some Frequently Asked Questions
All applications need to be emailed to:
Britto Arts Trust, britto.space@gmail.com (Bangladesh)
Prameya Art Foundation, opencall@praf.in (India)
Siddhartha Art Foundation, sthapa@mos.com.np (Nepal)
Vasl Artists' Association, vaslresidency@gmail.com (Pakistan)
Theertha International Artists' Collective, theerthaiac@gmail.com (Sri Lanka)

Partners

Emami Art

Emami Art, one of the most significant art institutions in the eastern part of India, is a key space for cultural production in the region. The organisation is focused on a future-forward, complex, multi-dimensional approach and steadfast in the advocacy of emerging, mid-career and established artists as well as an engagement with contemporary and historical material. The gallery aims to create dynamic, wide-ranging registers of exhibition-making and viewing. Deeply committed to promoting a regional, national and international agenda through innovative and alternative programming, emphasis on community and socially relevant engagements, institutional partnerships and more via a multi-year vision for the future, Emami Art is resolute to be a catalyst of change, research, innovation and inclusivity.

ROLI BOOKS

Since its inception 40 years ago, Roli Books has consistently identified bold themes relating to India and its heritage and commissioned the best talent to collaborate to produce high-quality books that are treasures in themselves. With a strong focus on quality, design, and innovation our books have traveled the world and found a home amongst the best publishers and bookshops. We continue to be inspired by India’s incredibly rich past and have some of the greatest creative minds of the country as our authors.

BRITTO ARTS TRUST

Britto Arts Trust is an artists’ run non-profit network officially founded in 2002 in Dhaka, Bangladesh with a global reach. It is permanently spaced in Green Road, Dhaka but works extensively in different locations across the country. Britto works as a catalyst for supporting and promoting new ideas.
Britto is an expansive and sustainable contemporary art environment and culture that seeds and promotes multiple interdisciplinary practitioners, groups and networks for the Bangladesh art scene. It provides an International and local forum for the development of professional art practitioners, a place where they can meet, discuss, experiment and upgrade their skills on their own terms.
Britto set up the Bangladesh Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, also invited to the ‘documenta fifteen’ in 2022.

SIDDHARTHA ARTS FOUNDATION

The Siddharth Art Gallery was established by Sangeeta Thapa, art patron, and internationally recognized artist, Shashikala Tiwari, in 1987 as a contemporary art space and meeting point for national and international artists. The Siddhartha Art Gallery has been active in the promotion of contemporary Nepalese art and has strived to introduce international perspectives in art, to the Kathmandu community. Over the years artists from India, Pakistan, The Netherlands, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, South Africa, Mauritius, Taiwan, China, Jordan, Canada, France, Austria, Australia, Finland, Aruba, Curacao, Cuba, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Japan, China along with the Autonomous Region of Tibet, Korea, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States have held their exhibitions at the Gallery.

THEERTHA INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS' COLLECTIVE

Theertha is an autonomous, artist-led non-profit initiative based in Colombo. Theertha has undertaken a considerable amount of art activities since its inception in 2000. Theertha, supports the art of the 90’s trend which challenged the existing aesthetics, methodologies, and ideology in art making. It has always emphasized and encouraged innovative and experimental ideas among artists. Theertha has showcased some of the innovative artworks done by contemporary artists. Through the patronage of Theertha the relatively new art forms to Sri Lanka such as performance art and installation got the opportunity and forums to expand and evolve.

VASL ARTISTS' ASSOCIATION

In 2001, Vasl was established as an artists’ collective, in Karachi, Pakistan. Inspired by the original philosophy of the Urdu word ‘Vasl’, which depicts an intangible form of unison. Vasl Artists’ Association functions as space and platform for nurturing creativity, in addition to encouraging the freedom to create experimental work in artistic practices. Vasl Artists’ Association is affiliated with the Triangle Network, UK. It is an international network of artists and art organizations that support professional development, cultural exchange, and innovation within the contemporary visual arts. Within the past 18 years in Pakistan, more than 660 international and local artists have undertaken Vasl residencies. They have attended workshops, conducted educational outreach and public programs, and created projects of significance.

PRAF PUBLISH 01 | SAHIL NAIK | THE BIRD, A BONE AND OTHER WITNESSES OF A MUSEUM FIRE

Sahil Naik is the recipient of Praf Publish 01 2021-22, and will receive a grant to realize the publication of his artist book titled 'The Bird, A Bone and other Witnesses of a Museum Fire'.

Sahil Naik's proposed artist book The Bird, a Bone and other Witnesses in a Museum Fire is a semi-fictional, speculative publication, triggered by the loss of the National Museum of Natural History to a fire in 2016. Using a range of forensic, CGI and investigative devices, along with images and materials sourced by sorting through voluntary public uploads by individuals across the internet, the project attempts to piece together the museum, its possibilities, failures and absent futures through a collision of hard evidence, speculative forms and warm stories. Focusing less on the institution's history, the book embarks on several tangential inquiries of what it could have been, without staying with the objects themselves, and instead free falling through anecdotes, encounters and episodes from time given to and spent in the museum. This exercise will help reframe the museum beyond what the state decided to “museumize” and consider what it omitted, marginalised and murdered to contemplate how stories correspond with objects and instill care and empathy to its dead/alive objects. Could they also be warmed by stories of human pursuit, hope and the resilience of the natural world?

BIO

Sahil Naik's (b. 1991) practice examines the modalities of evidence and states of truth through architecture, minor and casual histories, mythology, forensics and the internet. His current project Monuments, Mausoleums, Memorials, Modernism studies the violence of the nation-building project with a focus on South Asia and the Non-aligned world.

Naik completed his post-graduate studies from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda (Distinction) and an undergraduate degree from Goa College of Art. He has exhibited at the Delfina Foundation and Asia House, London, UK; Bridget Donahue as a part of Condo, New York; Beirut Art Center, Lebanon; Khoj International Artists’ Association and the Serendipity Arts Festival, India; HH Art Spaces, Goa and the Aomori Contemporary Art Center, Aomori, Japan. He was also a recipient of Five Million Incidents, instituted by Goethe Institut New Delhi with RAQS Media Collective. His solo exhibitions include All Is Water And To Water We Must Return (2021), Monuments, Mausoleums, Memorials, Modernism (2020) and Ground Zero (2017) at Experimenter, Kolkata. Sahil is a participating artist at the 5th edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale curated by Shubigi Rao (postponed to December 2022).

He is a recipient of the inaugural Warehouse 421 Artistic Research Grant; the Arts (Productions) grant instituted by the India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore; and the Garage Digital Commission instituted by the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow.

PRAF Publish 02

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

To apply, email your portfolio of previous work (10 pages), a statement indicating your commitment to the form of the artist book and its relevance to your practice, CV, and a proposal that includes a digital rendition of the first 10-20 pages of the proposed publication. All the required information should be shared as a single PDF file via a google drive link or as an attachment to the email.
Proposals for exhibition catalogues and artist monographs will not be considered.
Applications will be shortlisted based on the strength of the proposal, relevance of its subject, formal and conceptual innovation, and feasibility of the proposal within available budgets.
PRAF will support the publication of the book, including production (design, layout, copyediting etc.), printing costs (up to 350,000 INR), distribution in the South Asian region, and artist fees (50,000 INR).
In association with our partner institutions we will shortlist three applications from each country, which will be reviewed by an independent jury who will select the recipient of the grant. The majority decisions of the jury and of the advisory committee on the interpretation of all rules and regulations of the grant, shall be final and legally binding. Reasons will not be given for any such decision by the jury and/or the advisory committee, and they will not enter into any correspondence regarding the merits of any decision.
Roli Books will be publishing and distributing the publication (in South Asia and internationally) developed by the recipient of this grant.
Mentorship will be available from PRAF team and also experienced practitioners including some jury members.
Copyright of all aesthetic and intellectual content presented in the book will remain with the artist.
This opportunity is open to all creative practitioners regardless of age or experience.
Upon selection of the proposal, the recipient will be notified of a timeline and deliverables which will be binding.
Once the recipient of the award confirms that the terms and conditions are acceptable to them, a contractual agreement will be formed between the artist, Roli Books and Prameya Art Foundation detailing this.
At any time after an entry is accepted or after the award has been granted, if a majority of jury members determine that the entry did not comply with the conditions of entry or eligibility, the award may be withdrawn from the recipient of this grant.
If for any reason the recipient of the grant is unable to meet recommended deadlines, the grant will be withdrawn after a notice period and any advance funds transferred to the recipient will need to be reimbursed immediately.
The recipient would also be expected to contribute as required for the publicity of the book and also programs in relation to the launch of the book and/or a workshop on bookmaking or relevant aspects of their practice for emerging practitioners.
The last date for receipt of submissions is 30th September 2024. Applications received after this date will not be considered. The organizers shall not be liable for failure or delay in receipt of entries.