Collection 001

Bengaluru
in the 2020s.

12 people. One city. One year.
Sealed for fifty years.

Edition12 subjects
Remaining5 open
ClosesDec 2030
Sealed until2080
ARC-COL-800 · Bengaluru · 2020-2080
The Brief

A city at a particular moment.
Twelve people who lived inside it.

Bengaluru in the 2020s is the inaugural editorial of the Ancestral Record Chain. Twelve subjects, documented across twelve monthly sessions each: conversation, recording, photographs. The complete body of work seals on December 31, 2030 and will not be opened until 2080.

This is not a portrait series. It is not a documentary. It is a record: twelve interior lives, in one city, in one year, before the city changes and the year becomes history.

What Bengaluru was in the 2020s will only be fully understood in 2080. These twelve people are the evidence.

The Sessions

Twelve months.
One session each.

Each session: a conversation, a recording, photographs. One theme. One month.

01
ArrivalWho you are now. The first record.
02
OriginWhere you came from. What you carried.
03
The Quiet LifeWhat your days actually look like.
04
WorkWhat you do and what it costs you.
05
The BodyHow you live inside yourself.
06
MidpointWhat has shifted since month one.
07
RelationshipsWho you are to other people.
08
The CityBengaluru as you know it. Not as it's known.
09
The InteriorWhat you think about when no one is watching.
10
The UnfinishedWhat you haven't done yet.
11
The LetterWhat you would say to whoever opens this in 2080.
12
SealingThe last record. What you want preserved.
What You Receive

Selected participants are not charged.
The archive covers everything.

The Book

A published copy of The Making of Bengaluru in the 2020s. Your chapter included. Signed and numbered by the Steward. Released December 2030.

Certificate of Participation

A certificate confirming your place in the Bengaluru in the 2020s Capsule Art Project, with a QR code linking to your record in the archive.

Your Session Photographs

The complete photographs from all twelve monthly sessions returned to you personally. Not the editorial cuts, but the full archive of your year.

The Private Viewing

Before sealing, the twelve subjects gather once to see the complete editorial. One time. No recordings. December 2030.

The Publication

The Making of
Bengaluru in the 2020s.

A published account of the editorial: the sessions, the process, the year. Each participant receives a signed, numbered copy. Released December 2030 alongside the sealing.

The editorial itself seals for fifty years. The book is what the world gets now. Your chapter is in it. Your name, if you choose, is in it. It has a spine. It has an ISBN. It exists on shelves.

"The archive keeps the work.
The book keeps the memory of making it."
The Terms
CommitmentTwelve monthly sessions across 2025-2030. Conversation, recording, photographs. Each session is approximately two hours.
RightsYou grant ARC the right to use recordings, photographs, and conversations for the editorial and any future publications. Sessions completed remain in the archive at the Steward's discretion.
IdentityNamed or anonymous, your choice at signing, irrevocable.
ExitYou may leave the project at any time, for any reason. No notice required. No conditions.
The SealThe complete editorial seals December 31, 2030. It will not be opened, viewed, or released until 2050.
No chargeThere is no cost to selected participants. The archive is patron-funded. Participation is by selection only.

If this is the year,
the Steward is reachable.

Write to the Archive →

ARC-COL-800 · Edition of 12 · Seals December 31, 2030 · Opens 2080