Frequently asked questions

Indian citizens who are currently based in India and practise in the visual arts may apply. Formal art education, gallery representation, awards, market recognition or an existing relationship with DRS Arts Company® are not requirements.

• DRS Artist Grant | ₹2,40,000 | Age: 30 years and above
• DRS Emerging Practice Grant | ₹60,000 | Age: 25–29 years
• DRS Young Artist Grant | ₹60,000 | Age: 18–24 years
• Ravindra Salve Promising Artist Award | ₹30,000 | Age: Under 30 years

No. You may be formally trained, independently trained or self-taught. What matters is your work, commitment, clarity of thought and the potential of your practice.

Yes. The DRS Arts Grant does not consider an art-school degree to be the only route into artistic practice.

Yes. Provided you meet the eligibility requirements of the relevant category. Being a student does not make the work less serious. The jury will look at the work and the commitment behind it.

Yes. Gallery representation does not disqualify you from applying.

Yes. If eligible. An existing relationship with DRS will neither qualify nor disqualify an artist, and it will not give the application preferential consideration.

The grant is open across the visual arts, including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation, mixed media, digital and new media practices, and other forms of visual art.

That is absolutely fine. You do not need to force your practice into a neat label. Tell us what you do in the way that best explains your work.

No. For this cycle, applicants must be Indian citizens and currently based in India.

Your age on the application closing date will determine the relevant grant category.

You do not need to. Your age places you in the relevant DRS grant category. Artists under 30 may also be considered for the Ravindra Salve Promising Artist Award where the jury feels the work merits such consideration.

You may apply yourself. Artists may enter the process through open application, nomination or invitation. All are considered on the strength of the work and application.

Yes. If you believe an artist deserves to be considered, you may nominate them. The nominated artist will then need to provide the required information and material so that the application can be properly reviewed.

No. There is no fee to apply for the DRS Arts Grant.

The application will ask for:

• basic information about you and your practice
• information about your practice and what you want to develop next
• why the grant would help you at this stage
• an approximate budget and timeline
• an artist statement
• a short biography or CV
• approximately 8–10 examples of your work
• basic details of the submitted works

The application form will clearly indicate the final requirements.

Approximately 8-10 works that give the jury a useful understanding of your practice. Choose works that help us understand what you do rather than simply submitting everything you have made.

No. You may respond in English, Hindi, Gujarati or another Indian language in which you can express yourself comfortably. Language should help us understand the artist, not become a gatekeeper.

That is fine. Where indicated in the application, responses may be submitted in writing, by hand, through audio or voice note, or through video, provided your purpose and thoughts are clear.

No. Clear documentation is important, but expensive design or presentation is not. We are interested in the work, not in who had the better graphic designer.

Yes. Someone may assist you with typing, translation, uploading files or understanding the form. However, the ideas, answers, artworks and information submitted must genuinely represent you and your practice.

Tell us where your practice stands today and what you are trying to explore, develop, change, research or continue. This response may be up to 500 words. Clarity matters more than complicated language.

Detailed enough for us to understand what the support could make possible. Explain how the grant would help, include an approximate budget and propose a realistic timeline of up to one year. Your grant-help response may be up to 500 words.

Do not worry about finding the perfect label. Describe your practice honestly and select the closest appropriate discipline where the form requires one. DRS may administratively place an application where it is most appropriately considered without penalising the artist.

Please review your application carefully before submitting it. Changes after submission or applications received after the published deadline may not be possible, except where DRS specifically allows them because of a genuine technical or administrative issue.

Applications will be reviewed through a jury structure comprising three independent jurors and one DRS Arts Company® representative.

The criteria vary slightly by category, but broadly the jury will consider the quality of the work, seriousness and continuity of practice, originality, clarity of thought, commitment, artistic direction, future potential and how meaningfully the support could help at this stage.

Not by themselves. Recognition, representation, market success and follower numbers are not substitutes for the work. The grant is specifically designed to allow potential to be considered even before the market or wider art world has recognised it.

No. Open applicants, nominated artists and invited artists are judged through the same selection process. Knowing DRS is not a selection criterion.

The artworks are central, but they are not the only consideration. The jury may also consider your practice as a whole, your thinking, what you are attempting to develop and whether the proposed support could make a meaningful difference.

Not necessarily. If additional understanding is required, shortlisted artists may be contacted for a conversation, interview, further documentation or a studio interaction. Not being called for one particular form of interaction should not be interpreted on its own as a selection result.

No. Because of the expected number of applications, DRS will not be able to provide individual jury comments or detailed feedback to every unsuccessful applicant.

No. There is no separate finalist or shortlist honorarium.

The important dates for each grant cycle will be published on the DRS Arts Grant website. Selected artists will be contacted directly and the final recipients will be formally announced after the selection and verification process is complete.

The purpose is deliberately broad because different artists need different things at different stages. Support may include materials, studio or workspace, research, education, travel, research trips, equipment, documentation, publications, exhibitions, professional development or another genuine requirement that helps the artist continue and develop the practice.

Yes. Where this is genuinely connected to allowing the artist to continue practising. Sometimes the most useful artistic support is not another box of paint. It may simply be enough stability for the artist to have time to work.

Not necessarily. Depending on the purpose, need and proposed work, a grant may be released monthly, quarterly or as a single payment. The final structure will be decided by DRS Arts Company® after selection, with the artist and the proposed use in mind. The Ravindra Salve Promising Artist Award of ₹30,000 is a one-time award.

Recipients will be expected to use the support for the agreed purpose and provide reasonable documentation of how the grant has helped the practice. This may include updates, photographs, videos or other relevant material. DRS may also document the grant and its outcomes through its annual publication and communication, with the necessary artist permissions. The intention is documentation and accountability, not paperwork for the sake of paperwork.

No. The grant is meant to support the development and continuation of your practice, not impose a production quota. Different artists may need different outcomes. Depending on the proposal, progress may take the form of new work, research, experimentation, documentation, study, travel, skill development or another meaningful step in the practice. Any expected outcomes will be discussed with the selected artist.

Yes. Not receiving a grant in one cycle is not a judgement on the future of your practice. Artists who remain eligible are welcome to apply again in a future cycle with new work, further development or a stronger proposal.