Time to question, test and develop a practice.
A4A’s programmes support emerging artists and cultural practitioners through sustained mentorship, peer exchange and critical dialogue.
At the centre of our work is the Residency & Mentorship Programme, a three-month cycle designed to give artists time to research, experiment and develop their practices beyond the pressures of immediate production or exhibition.
VIEW CURRENT OPEN CALL
A space for enquiry, not a production deadline.
Each residency brings together a small cohort of artists through an open call. Participants remain embedded in their own contexts while engaging in sustained one-to-one mentorship, group discussions, peer critiques and collective learning.
The programme foregrounds research and process. Artists are encouraged to develop questions, test ideas and examine the conceptual, material and methodological decisions shaping their work. Writing labs, peer critiques and presentation formats support artists in articulating their practices with greater clarity.
In 2024, A4A reactivated its residency programme through a virtual format, beginning a new phase of sustained engagement with emerging artists.
The Virtual Residency & Mentorship Programme is not conceived as a substitute for physical residency, but as an extension of A4A’s long-standing commitment to time, dialogue and practice-based mentorship. By working virtually, artists remain embedded within their own geographic and material contexts while gaining access to sustained critical guidance, peer exchange and professional discourse.
Mentorship sits at the centre of the programme. The emphasis is on research and process rather than immediate production, with artists supported in developing conceptual clarity, examining methodological decisions and articulating their positions through sustained conversation and critique.
HOW IT WORKS
3 MONTHS
Sustained engagement
SMALL COHORT
Depth over scale
MENTORSHIP
One-to-one and collective critique
PEER EXCHANGE
Conversation across practices
RESIDENCY & MENTORSHIP
Recent Residencies
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RESIDENCY & MENTORSHIP
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The 2024 residency explored the intersections between environment and gender, considering how ecological conditions shape experiences of care, labour, access, visibility and resistance. Working from personal and local contexts, artists developed their enquiries through research, material experimentation, dialogue and sustained mentorship.
Artists
Arindam Manna · Mohd Intiyaz · Shilpesh G Khalorkar · Vanshika Babbar
Mentors
Gigi Scaria · Mithu Sen · Shantamani Muddaiah · Vasudha Thozur
Explorations of Environment and Gender
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The 2025 residency examined the margins as active sites of knowledge, resistance and innovation. Artists worked through questions of place, material, access, visibility, labour and resource distribution, developing their enquiries through sustained dialogue with mentors and peers.
Artists
Ankur Yadav · Lipi Wadhawan · Praveen Sagar Dindi · Simi Deka
Mentors
Atul Bhalla · Premjish Achari · Pushpamala N · Vibha Galhotra
Curator
Shreya Muley
A4A × TAAS Writer–Curator Fellow A4A
EXPLORE 2025 RESIDENCY
Art at the Margins: Voices, Materials, and Geographies
Fellowships
RECENT FELLOWS
2025 · Shreya Muley
A4A × TAAS Writer–Curator Fellow
2024 · Meenakshi Nihalani
A4A Artist Fellow
Supporting practice at pivotal stages.
A4A’s fellowships create focused opportunities for artists, writers and curators to develop their practices through financial support, mentorship, research and professional exchange.
The A4A Artist Fellowship supports an emerging or mid-career artist through sustained mentorship and financial support, culminating in an opportunity for public presentation.
The A4A × TAAS Fellowship, developed with The Alternative Art School, extends this commitment to writing and curatorial practice, connecting emerging practitioners with wider conversations, international networks and new contexts for learning.