BLR Hubba: 16-25 Jan 2026

Over the last few decades, Indian cities have rapidly grown in scale and density, with mega projects like flyovers, metros and sea links being the flagbearers of this development. Somewhere, the children are being left behind in this development story. There are fewer and fewer spaces in cities for children to explore beyond the confines of their homes and schools. This impacts children from all socio-economic backgrounds as they are not only losing the opportunity to interact and learn about their own city, but are also being pushed into silos with no spaces for them to come together.

Though the city of Bengaluru is no exception to the urban development story, it does have an extensive network of parks and open spaces, which the residents continue to imaginatively occupy and reclaim.

BLR Hubba is creating a children’s experience centre which infuses play with learning, and aims to create a sensorial world for children in Freedom Park. We invite proposals from practitioners working with children (age group 2 – 14) to co-create this unique space with us.

Grant Details

We are offering grants of INR 1 Lakh to INR 3 Lakhs for proposals covering (but not limited to) the following thematics and forms:

• Rethinking the Playground: Installations pushing the boundary of play beyond the swing
• Climate Crisis and Children: Exhibitions grounding climate narratives through contextual learning
• Bengaluru and Game Design: Understanding the city of Bengaluru through life-size board game installation
• Oral History and Puppetry: Bringing alive local oral history through puppetry installation
• Into the Past or the Future with VR: Creating narratives bringing alive a slice of the past or the future with VR.
• Urban Biodiversity and ASMR: Sensorial narratives of urban biodiversity of Bengaluru.

Who can participate?

Individuals and organisations working with children using art and architecture-based pedagogy. Though the call is open to anyone in India, preference will be given proposals from Bengaluru-based practitioners. However, if you have a powerful idea that responds to our values and thematics, we are eager to hear from you and will make space for your proposal.

Timeline

Application Deadline: June 21, 2025

Shortlist Intimation: July 5, 2025

Final Selection of Proposals: July 31, 2025

For more details, write to [email protected] or visit the website linked below. To submit your application head over to the form linked here.