Gender Bender 2018 moves into its 4th editionwith a promising infusion of fresh and challenging ideas on the subject. For the first time this year, the Festival will run over 5 days - August 22 to 26, 2018 - with a series of specially-curated Illustrated Talks and Performances, culminating in the Grantee Showcase.
Ajithlal Sivalal is an actor, theatremaker and performance artist from Kerala. His project Jasmine Awning is a performance that celebrates different identities through the use of the jasmine flower, a flower usually associated with femininity.
Deepikah R. Bhardwaj is a multidisciplinary artist based out of Goa. Saakshi Joshi is an anthropologist, storyteller, and creative writer. Trial Room is a collaboration between poem and art where the narrative of a courthouse trial room, where judgements are passed, is juxtaposed onto the intimate space of a clothes trial room. Women enter here to try on a piece of clothing, but exit judged for their bodies.
Ita Mehrotra is a comics maker, illustrator and arts researcher. Her project is a visual narrative in response to the constant boxing in of gendered roles, drawing from her memories of growing up, so as to share experiences of the many ways that gender roles can be dumped- and everyday life can still go on brilliantly well!
Jinal Sangoi is a visual artist based in Mumbai and Los Angeles.
Her project, Stories of Invisible Labour, is an installation of finely engraved visual images on steel utensils, documenting interviews of six women. It aims to construct temporary spaces for women to heal from the collective memory of violence, exploitation and segregation.
Nairita Thakurata and Sreecheta Das are students of SRFTI where Sreecheta is pursuing screenplay writing and direction and Nairita is an editing student. Together, they are making a short film, using a mix of live action, film making and animation to colourfully paint the lives of two transwomen, Atri and Pinot.
Pranav Sreerag is a textile designer and installation artist. He will create a large textile-based installation with three focal points: the story of Nangeeli, who rebelled against the 19th century Kerala ‘breast tax’, the folk performance of Poothapaatu, especially the modern interpretation by the poet Edassery, and finally the ritual possession of Velichappadu.
Kadak is a collective of South Asian women who work with graphic storytelling of different kinds. They will present a curated set of graphic stories in a designed publication, both online and offline, accompanied by a set of exploratory audiovisual works around the theme of - boobs!
Santa Khurai is an artist and activist from Manipur who, for the past 15 years, has been working with several human rights organisations. Her short film revolves around the transgender community in Manipur and their lived experiences, through the life of Ate, a 13-year-old transboy.
Hansa Thapliyal is an independent film maker, and Rekandar Padmaja Varma, Chenna Kesava Rao Vanarasa and Alekha V are members of the century old theatre group, Surabhi Theatre. They will together present a short film documenting the life and work of these artists from The Surabhi Theatre, examining how form can play with fixed social ideas of gender.
Gender Bender is a joint project of the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan and Sandbox Collective. The project is conceived, conceptualised, and curated by Sandbox Collective.
Drawing Home by Ita Mehrotra | Ita Mehrotra is a comics maker, illustrator and arts researcher. Her project is a visual narrative in response to the constant boxing in of gendered roles, drawing from her memories of growing up, so as to share experiences of the many ways that gender roles can be dumped- and everyday life can still go on brilliantly well!
Jasmine Awning by Ajithlal Sivalal | Ajithlal Sivalal is an actor, theatremaker and performance artist from Kerala. His project Jasmine Awning is a performance that celebrates different identities through the use of the jasmine flower, a flower usually associated with femininity.
Reading Room, Kadak Collective | Kadak is a collective of South Asian women who work with graphic storytelling of different kinds. They will present a curated set of graphic stories in a designed publication, both online and offline, accompanied by a set of exploratory audiovisual works around the theme of - boobs!
Stories of Invisible Labour by Jinal Sangoi | Jinal Sangoi is a visual artist based in Mumbai and Los Angeles. Her project, Stories of Invisible Labour, is an installation of finely engraved visual images on steel utensils, documenting interviews of six women. It aims to construct temporary spaces for women to heal from the collective memory of violence, exploitation and segregation.
Bhaya Bhakti by Pranav Sreerag | Pranav Sreerag is a textile designer and installation artist. He createted a large textile-based installation with three focal points: the story of Nangeeli, who rebelled against the 19th century Kerala ‘breast tax’, the folk performance of Poothapaatu, especially the modern interpretation by the poet Edassery, and finally the ritual possession of Velichappadu.
Trial Room by Deepikah Bhardwaj & Saakshi Joshi | Deepikah R. Bhardwaj is a multidisciplinary artist based out of Goa. Saakshi Joshi is an anthropologist, storyteller, and creative writer. Trial Room is a collaboration between poem and art where the narrative of a courthouse trial room, where judgements are passed, is juxtaposed onto the intimate space of a clothes trial room. Women enter here to try on a piece of clothing, but exit judged for their bodies.