Indian Art Houses Funding & Revitalising The Art Of Analogue Film

Analogue film is more than just a format. Sure, it’s a medium made up of salts, silver, gelatine, celluloid, and light, but above all, it is made from human touch — it is a product of patience.

In an era of LUTs and Instagram filters, celluloid attempts to breathe as these Indian spaces build a community to pass the baton to and make analogue art accessible to the masses with workshops, analogue film festivals and funded residency programs.

I. Harkat Studios

“We want to relive the magic of churning a film through a projector onto a speckless cloth, evoking the tangible quality of the medium. We also want to keep a community of artists and makers, who have always been working with film, together and slowly rebuild, through community efforts, a lost infrastructure.”

Harkat Studios is an alternative art space and a film production company based in Mumbai and Berlin. Since 2017, every year, they’ve organized The 16mm Film Festival to celebrate the celluloid filmmaking process. They also facilitate the process of making films on celluloid with their film workshops and a list of curated resources open to all.

Image Courtesy: Harkat Studios

II. Analogue Approach Project (PhotoSouthAsia Workshop Series)

Working out of Delhi, the project explores the culture of printmaking, the perspectives of printmakers, and the stories behind the images.

They also conduct black and white darkroom workshops where participants get to refine their technical skills and understand the journey of film from the shutter release up until the finished print.

They fund 3 participants for all the workshops they conduct, of which 2 of the 3 participants selected are from outside of Delhi; funding, not just the workshop but also reimbursing up to ₹10,000 in travel.

Image Courtesy: Analogue Approach Project (PhotoSouthAsia Workshop Series)

III. Kāṇike Studios

“Kāṇike translates as ‘gift’ in Kannada. Kanike as a collective and space is intended for the practice of contemporary art with an intention to foster creativity and shape new directions in learning. It is also a space for artists from various disciplines to share, respond and collaborate in an unrestrained environment. Kāṇike aims to build a community of similar minds, and be a sanctuary for exchanges and conversations.”

Based In Bengaluru, Kāṇike Studios conducts Van Dyke Brown Process Workshops (a printing process named after Anthony van Dyck), Salt Print Workshops and Cyanotype Workshops.