Scheme of Extending Financial Assistance to Folk Artists, Troupes for the Purchase of Musical Instruments, Costumes

What is the folk artistes instruments and costumes assistance scheme?

This scheme of the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu gives a folk performer money towards the one thing the art cannot be practised without: the instrument and the costume. An individual folk artiste receives Rs 2,000 and a cultural troupe receives Rs 6,000 for the purchase of musical instruments, costumes and ornaments.

The department records that 1,585 folk artistes and 307 folk troupes have been assisted under the scheme.

The amounts are modest, and understanding why they still matter requires understanding the economics of folk performance in Tamil Nadu. A parai needs re-skinning. A therukoothu troupe's costumes and ornaments wear out under stage lights and monsoon travel. A villupattu bow, an urumi, a thavil, the anklets for oyilattam, these are consumables in practice, not one-time purchases, and a performer earning per show absorbs the replacement cost personally. The grant is designed to cover a replacement cycle rather than to capitalise a new troupe.

The Art and Culture Department has also run larger one-off rounds. Under a separate initiative, 500 folk artistes received Rs 10,000 each for musical instruments, costumes and ornaments. That was a specific round rather than the standing scheme, and a folk artiste should ask the Regional Art and Cultural Centre whether any such round is currently open in addition to the standing Rs 2,000 or Rs 6,000 grant.

Who is eligible, and who cannot apply?

You can apply if:

• You are a folk artiste practising one of Tamil Nadu's enlisted folk art forms. The Government of Tamil Nadu has enlisted around 99 to 100 folk art forms in the book Tamizhaga Naattar Nigazhthu Kalaigal, Kalangiyam.
• You are a resident of Tamil Nadu.
• You perform or teach the art form regularly, and can show programme notices, photographs, press coverage or recordings.
• You are applying for the individual grant of Rs 2,000, or you lead a cultural troupe applying for the Rs 6,000 troupe grant.
• The money is being sought for instruments, costumes or ornaments used in performance.

You cannot apply if:

• You practise a classical art form outside the enlisted folk art forms. A classical musician or Bharathanatyam dancer is not eligible under this head and should look instead at the Encouragement of Young Artists scheme, which gives Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 in vocal music, Bharathanatyam and instrumental music.
• You are not resident in Tamil Nadu.
• You cannot evidence performance. The centre is funding working performers, not enthusiasts.
• The purchase is not an instrument, costume or ornament: general household or travel expenses are outside the scheme.

How much is given?

For context, the Art and Culture Department's other artist support heads:

What documents are required?

How to apply for the folk artistes instruments and costumes assistance

1. Identify your Regional Art and Cultural Centre. The Art and Culture Department runs regional centres at Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thanjavur, Madurai, Salem, Tirunelveli, Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore. Chennai district residents deal directly with the Directorate of Art and Culture, Chennai.
2. Register with the Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board first if you have not already. Registration costs Rs 100 with a Rs 10 renewal every two years, and the membership card is the simplest proof of folk artiste status. It also unlocks the board's own benefits, which are far larger than this grant.
3. Collect the application form for the instruments and costumes assistance at the Regional Art and Cultural Centre.
4. Decide whether you are applying as an individual or as a troupe. The amounts and the supporting documents differ — a troupe claim needs a member list and evidence that the troupe performs as a unit.
5. Assemble your evidence: programme notices with your name or the troupe's name, photographs of performances, press cuttings, recordings, and a Village Administrative Officer's certificate confirming artiste status if you are not a board member.
6. Obtain a quotation from a dealer for the instrument, costume or ornament you intend to buy, so the file shows what the money is for.
7. Submit the completed form with the documents at the Regional Art and Cultural Centre and take an acknowledgement with a reference number.
8. Follow up at the same centre and check your bank account for the credit once the grant is sanctioned.

How to check the status of your application

There is no online tracker for Art and Culture Department artist grants. Use this route:

1. Keep the acknowledgement issued by the Regional Art and Cultural Centre.
2. Follow up at the same Regional Centre, which processes and forwards the file.
3. Escalate to the Directorate of Art and Culture, Chennai, if the file remains pending.

Why applications fail, and how to avoid it

• No proof of folk artiste status. Register with the Folk Artistes Welfare Board: Rs 100 solves this permanently.
• Art form not on the enlisted list. Check with the Regional Centre which of the roughly 99 enlisted forms your practice falls under before applying.
• Thin performance evidence. Keep every programme notice and photograph. A dated list of performances with venues is what a scrutiny officer can act on.
• Applying at the wrong centre. Regional Centres cover defined districts; Chennai residents go to the Directorate.
• Name mismatch between the board membership card, Aadhaar and the bank account.
• Troupe claim without a member list, so the centre cannot confirm the troupe exists as a performing unit.

Register with the Folk Artistes Welfare Board, the practical advice

This grant is small. The Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board, constituted in 2007 and now with 57,308 registered members, is where the substantial money is. Membership is open to folk artistes aged 18 to 60 and brings:

Registration is at the Regional Art and Cultural Centre, with proof of residence, age and family details, a Village Administrative Officer's certificate confirming artiste status, three passport-size photographs, photographs of performances and the Rs 100 fee. A duplicate card costs Rs 20.

Where to raise a grievance

• The Regional Art and Cultural Centre for your district.
• The Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai.
• The department website, artandculture.tn.gov.in.

The application form is free at the Regional Centre. No agent or middleman can obtain this grant for a fee, and the money is paid by bank transfer into the artiste's own account.