Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program
Field of Specialization:	Art and Architectural History
Name:	Ms. Glenna Barlow
Official Address:	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia
Indian Host Institution:	University of Mumbai, Mumbai
Duration of Grant & Start Date :	Duration: 9 months August 2011

Brief Bio:

Glenna Barlow earned her Master's degree in Elementary Education, and her Bachelor's in Art History from the University of Mary Washington. She spent a year in France teaching English to French students. During her Master's she also spent time in Jordan learning Arabic. During this time she presented her work at several conferences and had an article on calligraphic modernism in Pakistan published in "Modern Arts Asia". Her interest and travels in South Asia led her to the topic for her thesis, which examined the decorative motifs in the architecture of Fatehpur Sikri. She received a university research grant to conduct extensive photographic documentation of that and many other sites in India. The title of Ms. Barlow's Fulbright-Nehru research is "Religious Aesthetics of Contemporary Indian Folk Art." This project examines the various religious and cultural influences that have filtered down through the years to folk artists and artisans working today. The folk art on which she will focus is ephemeral - largely pieces produced for festivals and then destroyed. In examining and documenting these objects being created and used she will be able not only to preserve these impermanent works of art, but also to reflect critically on their artistic sources and discern how traditional Indian ideals are being incorporated in folk art created today.