Participatory Visual Learning: A Through Her Lens workshop on Seeing, Understanding and Constructing the Visual – Call for Applications

 

 

 

[Find a downloadable PDF version of this call here.]

 

Zubaan is now inviting applications for Participatory Visual Learning, an online workshop that intends to explore key ideas of learning in visual cultures, and to develop the skills to articulate this understanding. The workshop seeks to open the term ‘visual’ to include media such as photography, illustrations, graphics, audio-visual material etc. This participatory workshop will look at questions of gender, representation, culture, identities, body politics and more. While no prior theoretical knowledge of visual culture is required to apply for this workshop, preference will be given to people working in grassroots organizations, communities, etc. in Northeast India.

 

Details

Facilitator: This workshop will be facilitated by Ruchika Gurung, an educator and researcher trained in film, media and culture studies. Ruchika is currently a faculty member in Whistling Woods International’s School of Media and Communication.

Number of sessions: The workshop will consist of 4 sessions spread across 4 weeks.

Dates and timings: 5-7pm on Saturday evenings, from 31 October 2020 to 21 November 2020.

Location: Owing to the ongoing public health crisis, the workshop will take place entirely over Zoom.

Fees: Participation in this workshop is free. Following the successful completion of the workshop, participants will receive a letter of participation from Zubaan.

The workshop will follow a participatory learning model, wherein each session will be geared towards participants using the learnings from the workshop to construct a narrative, and produce their own body of work. Each session will have a component dedicated to mentor feedback and review. From the basics of visual construction and its usage in research and documentation, to the focus on the role of identity and performance in art and media, and the way these materials construct narratives of gender, sexuality, caste, race and form, these sessions will be tailored to reflect the concerns of researchers working on the ground. 

With confirmed participation from women’s collectives and community women leaders (from earlier editions of Through Her Lens), the workshop is also designed to be a place to build on existing understandings of research and documentation through a multimedia approach, keeping in mind the existing political, ecological, social and economic realities, and provide an extended network of support through these platforms. 

It aims to instil in researchers an understanding of these visual constructions, and enable them to use this understanding to complement their research practices in ways that also discard stereotypes about what ‘traditional’ research methodology constitutes.

 

Eligibility criteria

  • Applications are open to women, queer, trans and nonbinary individuals from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. Those from the regions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong are also welcome to apply.
  • Applicants must be 18 years and above.
  • The workshop will primarily be conducted in English, therefore familiarity with the language is ideal.
  • As mentioned earlier, no prior theoretical knowledge of visual culture is required to apply for this workshop, but preference will be given to people working in grassroots organizations, communities, etc. in Northeast India.

To apply

Send in your CV and a 200 word cover letter* that details your reasons behind applying for this workshop by Wednesday, 21 October 2020.

Interested people are required to send in their details to BOTH of the following email ids: projects@zubaanbooks.com and herlens.exhibition@gmail.com. The last date of submission is Wednesday, 21 October 2020. Please put “Application for Participatory Visual Learning Workshop“in the subject line.

[Note: If you’d like to send in any other material — audio, video, visual — to supplement your application, please feel free to do so.

*You can also send in an audio clip or a video recording detailing your interest instead of a cover letter. Please limit it to 60 seconds or less.]

 

Selection of participants

All applications will be screened by a selection committee. Only selected participants will be contacted further, and the committee’s decision will be final. Selected candidates will be informed via email by Tuesday, 27 October 2020.

 

Outcomes

As mentioned above, participants will be required to produce a body of work during the workshop that reflects their learnings and journey. The final materials produced, with support from the mentorship programme, will be displayed in an online exhibition under Through Her Lens

 

A note on copyright

Regarding the material that is produced, all participants will share the rights of the work produced by them as an outcome of this workshop with Zubaan Publishers Pvt. Ltd. (ZPPL) for publishing the selected material on their website, social media, related accounts and communication materials, which will be used in accordance with the company’s Privacy Policy. All participants will be given due credit for any material used. The participants will also be free to use this material in their future work, with due acknowledgement to ZPPL and the workshop.

A contract will be signed with each participant following selection regarding this.