New Delhi, Jun 28, 2025: Sustaina India, a first-of-its-kind art x climate change initiative by Thukral and Tagra (T&T) and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), is now accepting applications for the third edition of Sustaina India Fellowships. The Fellowship programme will support three creators over six months to realise impact-driven mixed-media and multimedia art projects at the intersection of art, climate science and research. The fellowship will culminate in a 10-14-day-long exhibition in New Delhi in January/February 2026.
Sustaina India aims at addressing the urgent need to catalyse pollinations across art, science and policymaking through annual fellowships, exhibitions and public programmes. It also aims to mobilise creators to integrate decentralised climate change awareness and sustainability conversations into the cultural fabric of India and beyond; and to unpack the key potential of materials to tell stories of climate action and sustainability.
Sustaina India 3.0 is inviting proposals that critically engage with the climate crisis and inspire bold, solution-oriented visions for the future. Rooted in a commitment to climate action, this call seeks artistic practices that challenge conventional thinking and open new ways of seeing, feeling, and responding to the complexities of climate change.
It is particularly interested in works that question the status quo, highlight resilience and adaptation, and reveal the deep interconnections between people, ecology, and systems. Whether through drawing, sculpture, installation, sound, performance, video, or through individual practices grounded in long-term research on climate resilience, adaptive intelligence, innovation, and the ecologies of care, the proposal should invite audiences to rethink their relationship with the planet and imagine just, sustainable futures, Sustaina India said in a press release.
Proposals based on new and ongoing projects will be considered, it said.
Applications Due: 30 June 2025
Application Guidelines
Who can apply: Young and emerging creators currently residing in India.
Medium: The creators should use materials that have a limited or no carbon footprint.
What it offers:
● Total budget of INR 3,00,000, including production budget of INR 1,50,000 lakh to create a new project and an honorarium of INR 1,50,000 to each selected Fellow.
● In-person workshop in Delhi to kick-start the Fellowship.
● Mentorship from the curators of Sustaina - Thukral and Tagra to realise the final art project.
● Knowledge support from CEEW — one of Asia’s leading public policy think tanks.
● Opportunity to present the project at a prominent gallery space in Delhi.
● Travel and accommodation during the workshop and exhibition.
Selection process: The applications will be reviewed by Sustaina India's core team, which includes a jury of experts and advisors from the fields of art and climate science and communications. The selected fellows will be announced by the end of July 2025.
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