CONTEXT
Historically, caravans were vital for trades, migrations, and cultural exchange, traversing vast landscapes and connecting diverse communities. They facilitated the sharing of stories, knowledge and traditions across borders. Similarly, Queer Caravan aims to traverse physical and metaphorical landscapes to foster cross-border connections and promote a sense of community among LGBTQIA+ writers and storytellers from underrepresented communities in India, France and Germany.
Queer Caravan embodies a multifaceted approach to achieving these goals: it seeks to introduce emerging LGBTQIA+ writers from diverse marginalized communities to new and distinct literary-cultural landscapes while facilitating meaningful interactions between these writers and local communities. The program also supports the creation and dissemination of alternative narratives about what it means to be queer and from marginalized communities.
QUEER CARAVAN 2024
The program unfolds over a five-month period of collaboration between emerging queer writers from Germany, France, and India, from August to December 2024 in two phases.
PHASE I: Online Sessions (August to October 2024)
- Through a series of online sessions from August to October 2024, participants will engage in development of new creative work, professional growth opportunities, and the cultivation of cross-cultural understanding and dialogue.
- These sessions serve as a foundation for the subsequent phase of the program, which culminates in India.
PHASE II: India Tour (30 November to 16 December 2024)
- The tour begins with a residency in Delhi, where participants will collaborate on collective and individual pieces that reflect their shared experiences and visions for queer futures as imagined by marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities.
- Their works will then be showcased at prominent literary festivals in Delhi and Bangalore, such as the Rainbow Literature Festival in Delhi and the Bangalore Literature Festival, amplifying the voices of LGBTQIA+ writers on a national stage.
Through collaboration, professional development, and community engagement, Queer Caravan hopes to empower LGBTQIA+ writers and storytellers and also enrich the literary landscape with diverse perspectives and narratives. Through this transformative journey, participants will forge lasting connections, spark meaningful dialogue, and envision new and abundant futures for queer communities across the intersecting dimensions of social, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identity.
2024 THEME: QUEER FUTURES, AS ENVISIONED BY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
Art has the power to push our individual and collective imagination towards new horizons and worlds. LGBTQIA+ storytellers can spark narrative change by imagining and creating alternate visions of queer and trans futures, bringing their art to mainstream literary and cultural spaces, and reaching diverse audiences. Queer futures, speculative narratives and visionary art can show political and social complexities, challenge existing paradigms and offer new ways of understanding identity, community and belonging.
In an increasingly polarized world that seeks to erase the truth of our shared humanity, we need an abundance of stories created by LGBTQIA+ people from marginalized and intersectional backgrounds. These stories are vital because they provide nuanced perspectives that are often excluded from mainstream discourse, enriching our cultural dialogue and fostering empathy and understanding.
We invite writers to dream and share stories of liberated and inclusive queer futures. Queer Caravan aims to bring these narratives to the forefront, ensuring they reach a wide audience and contribute to a cultural landscape that transcends borders and differences. By doing so, we can create a world that is vibrant, inclusive, and truly reflective of our diverse humanity, one where every voice is heard.
WHO IS INVITED TO APPLY, AND HOW?
This call for applications is open to all emerging LGBTQIA+ artists from diverse communities in India, France and Germany, including those from refugee or migrant backgrounds, ethnic or religious minorities, or other intersectional identities. The project is open to writers, poets, spoken word artists, playwrights and performers, and will provide them with a platform for creative exploration and cultural exchange. The applicants must be willing to create new literary work to showcase/perform at the above-mentioned festivals.
A jury will select two candidates from each of the three countries: India, France and Germany.
REQUIREMENTS
- Eligible candidates must be from Indian, French or German nationalities, or currently residing in one of the three countries for at least 5 years.
- Applicants must have a valid passport for the purposes of traveling.
- Applicants must have a fluent hold of English, as the medium of instruction and the work that emerges from this programme will be primarily in English.
- The applicants must be virtually available to attend up to 4 online sessions from August to November 2024 and be physically available to participate in the program in India from 30th November to 16th December 2024.
- The applicants must be willing to produce new and original literary work as part of the program to be presented at festivals in India.
- We aim to include and represent a diversity of voices. We particularly encourage applications from LGBTQIA+ individuals who are from groups underrepresented in the arts and cultural sector in India, Germany, and France such as faith-based minorities, caste-based minorities, BIPOC communities, etc.
- We are interested in artists whose work is socially and politically engaged and offers fresh ideas and perspectives for an inclusive and just world.
- We are interested in candidates whose work is rooted in their context, including those who take inspiration from their heritage, traditional oral forms, indigenous forms of storytelling/performance to write, and who have solid presence and outreach in their communities.
