The project involved team selection and project development, along with field research, writing, supervision and coordination between the various team members and patrons of the virtual museum.
Launched in December 2023, Sandooka: The Living Museum of Kodava Culture (a project commissioned by IFA for the Sandooka Museum Trust), led and curated by Lina Vincent along with a small team of researchers and designers, sought to create a community driven framework for talking about and representing Kodava culture in its living form. Kodagu is a district in southern India, in the State of Karnataka, nestled in the biodiversity hotspot of the Western Ghats. Considered a tribe that is fast dwindling in numbers, the Kodavas have an intrinsic relationship with the soil, the forests and rivers; their rituals, festivals and celebrations are unique, and reverberate around nature and the protection of their land, as warriors and as keepers.
The project has led to the gathering of a large number of oral histories, and documentation of traditional practices that are disappearing; this was achieved through field visits and engagements with individuals, families and groups. The virtual museum was launched in December 2023.
Images Courtesy: Roy Studio & Lina Vincent