Encapsulating Culture
by Aarushi Bhawsar
Mumbai
Project Description
We aim to present the community to the world through their own lens—centering lived experience over western documentation, and preserving culture as felt, not just recorded.
Expected Impact
This project aims to shift how culture is documented and remembered in India by moving beyond western archival methods and centering Indigenous voices, sensory knowledge, and lived experience. By working closely with the Kondh or Santhal communities, we aim to preserve not just practices or objects, but the feeling of being part of a culture—the sounds, smells, textures, and stories that form its emotional memory. This approach allows the community to represent itself on its own terms, creating a living archive that is shaped by those it seeks to preserve. Locally, it supports intergenerational connection and cultural pride, especially among youth who may be drifting from ancestral roots. Globally, it adds to vital conversations around decolonial design, ethnography, and heritage preservation—offering a model that is empathetic, immersive, and community-led. We hope to inspire a future where Indigenous knowledge systems are not treated as relics, but as evolving, resilient, and deeply relevant ways of seeing and being in the world.
Applicant Background
I have worked on a similar documentation and research of Bhil tribe of Madhya Pradesh(India) and my partner has worked with several traditional crafts of India.
Resources Needed
- Funding
- Mentorship
- Visibility
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