Project Overview
The silent fight: Unveiling Marginalized Narratives is not just a project — it's a commitment, a resistance, a stitched cry for justice. As a caregiving community art practitioner and activist, my work is rooted in lived experience. I walk with the women, I sit with the children, I listen, and I create alongside them. Through embroidery, painting, storytelling, and fabric books, I archive voices that have been silenced for generations. These are not just crafts — they are testimonies of pain, survival, and resilience. Over four months, I will collect over 1,000 works — paintings, stitched narratives, personal objects — each carrying a story that society has refused to see. In Nanoor and Bharatpur, I will live, eat, cry, and create with the communities. A collective Kantha quilt will emerge — layered with memories, resistance, and shared breaths. This is not just an archive. This is a fight. A movement. A mirror held up to society’s hidden wounds.
Expected Impact
I want this project to shake people — to force them to see what they’ve been ignoring. These are not just stories; they are lived realities, stitched and painted with pain, hope, and resistance. I want this work to create space — real, physical, emotional space — where marginalized voices are not just heard, but felt. I want a woman in a railway station to stop, look at an embroidery piece, and say, “That’s my story.” I want a child to see their painting in a public space and feel proud, seen, and strong. I hope this project becomes a living archive of truth, where healing begins through storytelling, art, and collective care. I want to challenge power, shake comfort zones, and build empathy. If even one person walks away thinking differently about justice, power, or pain — then this project is doing its work. This is not art for art’s sake — it’s art for survival.
Applicant Background
Sriparna Dutta (b. 1992, Kolkata) is a contemporary visual artist working between New Delhi and Kolkata. Her multidisciplinary practice weaves together textiles, embroidery, paper, and soft sculptural forms to center women’s narratives, unpaid domestic labor, and caregiving as acts of resistance. Through site-specific workshops and collaborations with marginalized communities, Dutta archives everyday care and feminine strength. She holds an MFA from the University of Hyderabad and a BFA from the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata. Her work has been presented at India Art Fair 2025 with Birla Academy of Art and Culture and Abir India, and at India Art Fair Parallel with Method Art Gallery (Fresh Produce) and Kalakriti Art Gallery (Origin of Story). She is a recipient of the Space118 Fine Arts Grant, Birla Award (2024), JK Paper Award, and MAP Relief Fund. She recently participated in the Ajitara Art Residency by Gallery Dot Walk.