Applications for South Asia Art Initiative awards

The South Asia Art Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley invites applications for its annual Art & Architecture Dissertation Prize and Artist Prize.

UC Berkeley South Asia Art & Architecture Dissertation Prize
The South Asia Art Initiative invites submissions of recent doctoral dissertations on the art, architecture, or visual cultures of South Asia and its diasporas from any discipline in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. The dissertation may focus on any time period from the prehistoric to the contemporary. The prize comes with a 1,500 USD award.

PhD dissertations submitted for consideration must have been filed between September 2, 2019 and September 1, 2021 at an accredited university in North America or Europe. The submission package must include the following, all in PDF format: Abstract (less than 1000 words), curriculum Vitae (please include your contact information), a copy of the dissertation, a confidential letter from a member of the dissertation committee that speaks to the merits of the dissertation with respect to the current state of the field and the innovation that the work attempts.

UC Berkeley South Asia Art Artist Prize
The South Asia Art Initiative invites applications from recent graduates who have received their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from an accredited institution in North America or Europe. The prize will be awarded for an outstanding body of work by an artist of the South Asian diaspora or by those whose work addresses the politics and cultures of South Asia. The prize comes with a 1,500 USD award.

Applicants must have filed their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree between September 2, 2019 and September 1, 2021 at an accredited school in North America or Europe. The submission package must include the following, and with each file size a maximum of 15MB: A PDF of your Artist Statement (less than 1000 words), a PDF of your Curriculum Vitae (please include your contact information), 20 images in a single PDF file and/or links (and password) to Vimeo for up to 15 minutes of time-based work, a confidential letter of support from a faculty member

Deadline: The submission package for both prizes must be in English and submitted via email to Puneeta Kala, pkala [​at​] berkeley.edu, by December 30, 2021. Late submissions will not be accepted. The 2021 prize recipient will be announced on the South Asia Art Initiative website in February 2022. The winner will give a talk in conjunction with an expenses-paid award conferral ceremony at UC Berkeley in April 2022. If there are continued COVID-19 travel restrictions, the award ceremony in 2022 may be held through a virtual platform. For more details, please see here.

The South Asia Art Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley promotes research-based conversations and collaborations around the arts of South Asia + its diasporas from the ancient period to the now.