The MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowship (2025-27)

About the Open Call

The MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowships will support South Asia-based projects that generate new interest in the region’s textile practices among diverse audiences. This Fellowship programme is a collaboration between Nalli Silks, the heritage textile brand, and the MAP Academy, fostering incisive research in the study of art histories from South Asia. The Fellowship supports research into under-explored textile-related histories, practices, and traditions across South Asia. Applicants may propose projects on any textile-centric subject including histories of clothing and costume, community/personal textile archives, textiles in religious/liturgical contexts, environmental impact of textile production/consumption, endangered/disappearing textile traditions, critical perspectives on revivalism, labour in textile production, textiles in relation to other cultural forms, archaeological study, or as symbols/metaphors in literature/mythology, and techniques/tools used in specific textile traditions. The Fellowship supports formats such as journalistic inquiry, documentary film, archive activation, practice-based research, archive generation, digitisation and documentation initiatives. Expected outcomes include a Research Dossier, Project Report, and Project Outputs such as Audio-Visual content, Visual Essays, Written Pieces, or Curatorial Work. Collaborative work is permitted.

What is Offered

A one-time grant of INR 5,50,000 will be awarded to each of the four selected fellows for one year of research towards project execution.

Requirements

The Fellowship is open to early- and mid-career professionals, including researchers, designers, archivists, journalists, writers, educators, practitioners, collectives and non-profit organisations. Applicants must be aged 18 years or older and reside anywhere in the world, with projects focused on South Asian textiles.

How to Apply

The application form is structured to serve as a comprehensive project proposal. Applications are open till 15th of October 2025. Precise instructions and templates are provided in the relevant sections of the form. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Contact fellowships@map-india.org for technical difficulties. Application Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPRWLFu8WHllR9T5QX5-_JdKvlrKJrXWpBcWOyvesK-HYAIg/viewform?usp=dialog