About
To preserve and extend the legacy of Mrinalini Mukherjee by supporting Indian visual artists in experimental and innovative transitions in their practice.
The Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation (MMF) is a Delhi-based non-profit organisation established to preserve and extend the legacy of sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee (1949-2015). Mrinalini Mukherjee was one of India's most distinctive sculptors, known for monumental works in hemp fibre that drew on Indian folk traditions, tantrism and the natural world, before transitioning in her later career to ceramics and bronze. Born into a family of artists (father Benode Behari Mukherjee, mother Leela Mukherjee), she was a lifelong experimenter who resisted categorisation. The Foundation's primary programme is the annual Mrinalini Mukherjee Creative Arts Grant -- offering up to INR 10 lakh to support experienced Indian artists (15+ years of practice) making experimental and innovative transitions in their work. A second programme, the Leela Mukherjee Artist-Educator Grant, supports artist-educators working with school-aged children. The Foundation also collaborates with FICA on the EAA+ emerging artist programme.
Mrinalini Mukherjee (1949-2015) began her career as a painter before developing a singular practice in monumental hemp fibre sculpture -- a material choice that had no precedent in Indian art and that she sustained for over two decades. Works such as Shakti, Kali and Devi are now held in major collections internationally including the Tate Modern. Her later career shift to ceramics and bronze demonstrated the same commitment to material experimentation. She died in 2015. The Foundation was established by her family to ensure her legacy generates active support for living artists rather than becoming merely commemorative. The Creative Arts Grant -- specifically for artists in their mature phase making bold transitions in practice -- is modelled on Mrinalini's own career: a practitioner who refused to stay in the register that had made her reputation.
Initiatives & Portfolio
Annual grant of up to INR 10 lakh for experienced Indian artists (15+ years practice) making experimental and innovative transitions. Inaugural year 2022-23. Annual jury including eminent artists, curators and institutional leaders.
Annual grant (INR 1 lakh) for artist-educators working with school-aged children, integrating local knowledge and lived environments into practice. Instituted with Welham Old Boys' Society support.
Collaboration with Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art on the Emerging Artists Award+ platform supporting 10 practitioners through grant, mentorship and exhibition.
MMF's significance is as a legacy foundation with an unusually honest understanding of what artist support means. The Creative Arts Grant targets experienced artists in transition -- a stage of practice that most grants ignore in favour of emerging talent or career-peak recognition. This is a structural gap in Indian arts philanthropy, and the Foundation fills it directly. The Leela Mukherjee grant's focus on artist-educators similarly addresses an underserved area: practitioners who work between art-making and pedagogy.
[Atlas Perspective] CultureAtlas profiles the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation as a focused, principled arts grant institution whose programmes reflect genuine understanding of practitioner needs. The Creative Arts Grant's eligibility threshold (15+ years of practice) and its emphasis on risk-taking and transition make it one of the most distinctive arts grants in India. CultureAtlas notes the Foundation as a natural partner for institutions working with mid-career and senior artists.