Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography 2026

Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation (SSAF) is pleased to announce the ninth edition of the Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography.

The Umrao Singh Sher-Gil (USG) Grant for Photography was established in 2015 in the name of Vivan Sundaram’s grand-father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil (1870–1954), a photographer of exceptional talent, whose principal subjects were his family and himself. He produced a family album of vast proportions, and his self-portraits spanning almost 60 years make up a unique archive. In 2007, the first retrospective exhibition of Umrao Singh’s vintage prints was held at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in France, followed by exhibitions at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi and Mumbai, India. Umrao Singh is regarded as a pioneering figure of the mise-en-scène or staged photography in India.

For the USG Grant 2026, SSAF pledges two grants of INR 5,00,000 each, to photography projects working with staged/constructed images and to documentary photography, while recognising the blurred boundaries between the methodologies and forms of both genres.

The application form must be filled in online here.

1. Biography (maximum 500 words)
Your biography/resume should include details about your history as an artist, past exhibitions, publications, awards, and grants shortlisted for and/or received. Please include details of employment if you are currently employed in a part-time or full-time capacity. Upload as a PDF document.

2. Project Proposal (maximum 750 words)

Please tell us about the subject you are proposing, the conceptual framework, and the approach and methodology that you will work with. Please tell us your motivation for proposing the subject, situating it within the larger context of your practice.

If you are applying for financial assistance to complete a work already in progress, clearly mention the stage the work is at, and why financial support is required to see it to completion. State any public exposure your project has previously received (such as in exhibitions, magazines, or on social media platforms), if any.

Proposals for a new body of work must include a concept note that outlines the objectives of the project, and what connection it has to your practice thus far. Please include details of your familiarity with the subject and the area/region, as well as of the research methodology you will follow if it is in a new area/region. Upload as a PDF document.

3.  Portfolio

a. Please include 2 to 5 relevant projects/bodies of work that you have already completed in your portfolio, along with a descriptive statement about each. You may include each project/body of work as images in separate folders or submit these as a PDF if in a book format.

b. In addition, if you are applying for completion of an ongoing project, please share 10 images from your ongoing work. Ensure that the images are from the project for which the application is being made.

Please upload all image files, project description and captions as a single compressed ZIP file to relevant sections in the application form.

Guidelines for images:

Each image must be of 300 ppi resolution, 10 inches on the long side, and in JPEG file format

The file names of the images should be in the following format:

<first name>_<last name if applicable>_<project title>_<image number in sequence>
For example, if your name is John Doe and your project title is Lorem ipsum, then the third photograph in your sequence should be named as: John_Doe_Lorem ipsum_03.jpg.

The images should be inserted in project-wise folders, and each folder named in the following format:

<first name>_<last name if applicable>_<project title>
For example, if your name is John Doe and your project title is Lorem ipsum, then your folder of images should be named as: John_Doe_Lorem ipsum.

Captions/titles and other image information:

Please submit a separate PDF document with the captions, medium and other details (in a tabular format as shown below) pertaining to each image file.

4.  Timeline
Please provide a clear timeline and month-wise schedule that outlines precisely how the proposed project will be completed within 18 months. Upload as a PDF document.

5.  Budget

A comprehensive budget must be provided with details of how the funds will be utilised to complete the proposed work over 18 months. The budget will be reviewed alongside your proposal and work plan. The grant amount of INR 5,00,000 will be disbursed in instalments across the duration of the grant period as per the timeline of the project.

Guidelines for the budget:
a. Expenditure on capital assets cannot be included in the budget. The purchase of computers and photographic equipment, such as printers, cameras, dark room equipment, etc., is not covered by the grant.

b. Costs of consumables such as film/SD cards, pen drives, chemicals for processing and printing, and paper towards the proposed work are acceptable and may be included in the budget.

c. Reasonable expenses towards renting third-party studios specifically for the proposed project, if required, is covered by the grant. Rent for existing studio spaces is excluded.

d. Up to INR 1 lakh of the total grant amount may be included in the budget as artist’s stipend.

e. The budget that is submitted along with the application will be binding on the recipient of the grant. Therefore, the budget should indicate only legitimate and realistic expenses that are essential for the completion of the proposed project.

Upload as a PDF document.

A sample template for the budget plan is given below: