The Indie Residency is a unique annual opportunity for Indian and International artists to learn and create together by engaging with questions of human dignity in an inter-cultural setting.

Each International Artist Residency is 2-3 weeks in length and typically has up to 10 International artists working alongside 10 Indian artists.  Each residency is designed around a theme, topic, or framework as a response to a particular social reality yet seeking to ask bigger questions about human value, dignity, and life in general–questions that have application globally.  The themes we pick have a breadth that allows for reflection at multiple layers, e.g. ‘Small’ where the concept was explored aesthetically, as a cultural value, and for its socio-economic implications; or ‘The Many Faces of Abundance’ where artists interacted with families involved with manual scavenging to learn about human dignity but also explore issues of marginalization, consumerism, and urban growth–issues relevant both locally and across the globe.

The Indie Birds International Fine Artist Residency begins with an in-depth engagement designed to foster a collective emotional and intellectual stimulus for participating artists.  Artists then work out responses to the issue or theme through a process of collective reflection and individual creativity.  Besides the informal interactions encouraged by working in a common studio space and an ethos of openness and mutual learning, a residency mentor facilitates the process of unpacking the theme through daily group interactions over tea.  In the course of the residency, we often engage with a community or marginalized group affected by the issue in a way that benefits them as well.  The residency typically partners with a local organization to provide a deeper understanding of the issues involved and/or access to the communities concerned.  In the course of the residency, participants take turns sharing their own artistic and personal journeys with the group through a presentation of past and current works.  An alumni night gives a chance to meet international residents who share insights and advice based on their current professional experiences. The residency culminates in an exhibition of the works produced, curated by the residents themselves, and held in a local Goa gallery.  Art for Change provides stipends to make it possible for Indian artists to participate while International artists raise their own funding.

Indie Birds Artists Residency Programme is open to all from all creative fields like visual artists, painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, theatre and film personalities, photographers, performers, etc. of all nationalities and others connected with art.