Apply for the Impart and Nalli Fellowship Program

The Impart and Nalli Fellowships Program supports independent research on underexplored textile histories, traditions, and practices across South Asia. The program awards two Research Fellowships, each worth INR 5.5 lakh, to researchers, practitioners, collectives, and small organizations worldwide for one year of research and project development.

Impart and Nalli Fellowships Program

The Impart and Nalli Fellowships Program funds research projects that deepen understanding of South Asia’s rich textile heritage while encouraging new perspectives on historical, cultural, social, environmental, and technological aspects of textiles.

The fellowship welcomes innovative research that documents, preserves, and reinterprets textile knowledge through a variety of research and creative formats.

Program Objectives

The program aims to:

• Support research into underexplored textile histories and traditions across South Asia.
• Encourage documentation and preservation of textile knowledge.
• Promote innovative and interdisciplinary textile research.
• Foster public understanding of textile cultures and practices.
• Support independent researchers and creative practitioners.
• Generate publicly accessible research outputs that benefit the wider community.

Research Themes

Applicants may propose projects on any textile-related topic.

Encouraged areas of research include:

• Textile history and culture.
• Environmental sustainability.
• Endangered textile traditions.
• Textile archives and digitization.
• Labour and social issues within textile industries.
• Interdisciplinary research involving textiles.
• Textile techniques and technologies.
• The global textile and design economy.
• Intellectual property and cultural rights.
• Relationships between handmade and industrial textiles.

Fellowship Funding

The program will award:

• Two Research Fellowships during the 2027–28 cycle.

Each fellowship provides:

• INR 5.5 lakh.

Funding supports:

• One year of independent research and project development.
• Either a standalone one-year project or one phase of a longer-term research initiative.

Eligible Project Formats

The fellowship supports a wide variety of research and creative outputs, including:

• Journalistic investigations.
• Documentary films.
• Archive activation projects.
• Practice-based research.
• Archive creation and generation.
• Digitization and documentation initiatives.
• Exhibition projects.
• Book projects.

Applicants are encouraged to choose the format best suited to their research objectives.

Eligible Applicants

Applications are open to individuals who:

• Are 18 years of age or older.
• Reside anywhere in the world.
• Propose research focused on textile practices across South Asia.

The fellowship welcomes applications from:

• Early-career researchers.
• Mid-career researchers.
• Designers.
• Archivists.
• Journalists.
• Writers.
• Educators.
• Textile practitioners.
• Collectives.
• Small organizations.

Collaborative Projects

Collaborative applications are eligible.

Applicants must:

• Clearly identify all collaborators.
• Appropriately credit co-creators and contributors.
• Include collaborator details within the application.

Fellowship Deliverables

At the end of the fellowship, Fellows must submit:

• A comprehensive Project Report.

Based on this report, Fellows will work with Impart to produce a Research Dossier summarizing:

• Key research questions.
• Major findings.
• Project outcomes.

The Research Dossier will be published on the Impart website for public access.

Final Project Outputs

Depending on the nature of the project, Fellows are expected to complete one or more outputs such as:

• Audio-visual interviews.
• Short documentary films.
• Visual essays.
• Written essays.
• Feature articles.
• Interviews.
• Curated exhibitions.
• Digital curation projects.

Program Benefits

The Impart and Nalli Fellowships Program helps participants to:

• Conduct independent textile research.
• Preserve South Asia’s textile heritage.
• Explore innovative research methods.
• Produce publicly accessible knowledge.
• Build professional research portfolios.
• Contribute to cultural preservation and scholarship.

Tips for a Strong Application

Applicants can improve their proposals by:

• Presenting a clear and original research question.
• Demonstrating the significance of the chosen textile topic.
• Explaining the proposed research methodology.
• Outlining realistic timelines and expected outcomes.
• Highlighting public engagement and knowledge-sharing plans.
• Clearly describing the final project outputs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who can apply for the Impart and Nalli Fellowships Program?

Anyone aged 18 years or older may apply, regardless of where they live, provided the proposed project focuses on textile practices across South Asia.

How much funding is available?

The program awards two fellowships, each worth INR 5.5 lakh.

What types of projects are supported?

Projects may include journalistic research, documentary films, archive development, digitization initiatives, practice-based research, exhibitions, books, and other textile-focused research formats.

Are collaborative applications allowed?

Yes. Collaborative projects are welcome, provided all collaborators and contributors are properly credited and included in the application.

How long does the fellowship last?

Each fellowship supports one year of research and project development.

What are the reporting requirements?

Fellows must submit a comprehensive Project Report, collaborate with Impart to develop a publicly available Research Dossier, and complete the agreed final project outputs.

Conclusion

The Impart and Nalli Fellowships Program provides two fellowships of INR 5.5 lakh each to support innovative research on the diverse textile histories, traditions, and practices of South Asia. By encouraging interdisciplinary scholarship, documentation, creative practice, and public knowledge sharing, the fellowship contributes to preserving textile heritage while fostering new research, cultural dialogue, and creative exploration.