Deadline: 15-Oct-2025
The MAP Academy and Nalli Fellowships are a collaboration between Nalli Silks and the MAP Academy to support projects focused on South Asian textiles.
The objective of the fellowships is to generate new interest in the region’s textile practices. The fellowship program supports research into under-explored textile-related histories, practices, and traditions across South Asia. Applicants can propose projects on any textile-centric subject. Encouraged areas of research include histories of clothing and costume, community or personal textile archives, textiles in religious or liturgical contexts, the environmental impact of textile production and consumption, endangered or disappearing textile traditions, critical perspectives on revivalism, and labor in textile production with a focus on caste, class, and gender. Research into textiles in relation to other cultural forms, in the context of archaeological study, as symbols or metaphors in literature or mythology, and techniques and tools used in specific textile traditions is also encouraged.
A total of four fellowships will be awarded in the second and third cycles (2025-27), with each fellowship providing a one-time grant of INR 5,50,000. Two fellows will be selected for the second cycle (February 2026-January 2027) and two for the third cycle (April 2026-March 2027). The fellowships are open to early- and mid-career professionals, including researchers, designers, archivists, journalists and non-profit organisations. Eligible projects can be new or ongoing and must be centered on South Asian textiles, with a geographical focus on countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
The fellowship supports various project formats, including journalistic inquiry, documentary films, and archive initiatives. The grant must be used to support one year of research, which may be part of a longer-term project. At the end of the fellowship period, fellows are required to submit a Research Dossier, a Project Report, and Project Outputs.
The project outputs may include: audio-visual works such as interviews or short films, visual essays like photographic or process-based documentation, or written pieces such as essays, features, or interviews. Curatorial work, including exhibitions or digital curation, is also an acceptable project output. Collaborative work is permitted, but fellows must credit co-creators and contributors and mention them in their application.
The selection process involves a review of the application form, which also serves as the project proposal, followed by an interview for shortlisted candidates. The application period for the next cycle will open in August 2025 and close on October 15, 2025.
For more information, visit MAP Academy.