The Redundant Fact-checker: Workshop with Sarnath Banerjee

Kochi Biennale Foundation invites applications for The Redundant Fact-checker, an online workshop with Sarnath Banerjee.

Globally, there appears to be a shift in propaganda based on censorship and restriction of information to new mechanisms that overload the field with opinions and information. Our public domain today is overrun by fake news, social media bots and internet trolls. In such a scenario, what is the place of fiction? Does the obfuscation of the boundary between fact and fiction debase both? Or are there narrative forms that are able to give force to both? How do facts incite the imagination, and how does the imagination drive research?

This practice-based workshop led by Sarnath Banerjee will explore these questions, but through the form of fiction. Participants will work closely with the faculty to research and create graphic fiction around these issues.

FORMAT

The workshop will be conducted using online video conferencing tools. Sessions will be held weekly for six weeks from Oct 24 to Dec 5, 2020, and participants are expected to attend all meetings. Additional one-on-one tutorials will also be scheduled in consultation with the lead faculty.

Works developed as part of the workshop projects will be presented to the public through the online channels of the Kochi Biennale Foundation.

FACULTY

Sarnath Banerjee is a graphic fiction writer and artist based in Berlin. His book-length publications include Corridor (2004), The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers (2007), and most recently Doab Dil (2019). He has also shown widely around the globe, including at the Sao Paolo Biennale (2008), Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2014), the Sharjah Biennale (2017). Banerjee also co-founded the publishing house Phantomville, which publishes graphic non-fiction by bringing together reporters and comic book artists.

APPLICATIONS

The workshop is open to persons resident in India. Joint applications (for ex, by a journalist and an illustrator) are also encouraged. No fee is charged for the workshop.

To apply, please send the following: 1) portfolio of works, 2) resume, and 3) a proposal (max. 300 words) pertaining to the concept by Oct 12, 2020 to [email protected]kochimuzirisbiennale.org with the subject-line ‘Fact-checker Workshop’.

This workshop is organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation and supported by the HCL Foundation and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.

Dates of the workshop: Oct 24 – Dec 5, 2020