Situated on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Colombo is known for its labyrinthine old city markets, grand colonial-era hotels, stunning shipwrecks and wetlands that are home to elusive fishing cats. But not so much for its contemporary art. All that is set to change, however, thanks to the recent launch of the Sri Lankan commercial capital’s Museum … Continue reading
I could not remember the last time I sat in darkness so absolute. With every door and window barricaded in the room at the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo, I would not have been able to see my hand if I held it in front of my nose. It was so utterly … Continue reading
The men sit around the table in solemn conference but they don’t mind when the caretaker W.A Samson interrupts to put a bucket on the table. On rainy days, the roof above the mannequins leaks and Samson is their first line of defence. Much of the beautiful old Town Hall building in Pettah is in … Continue reading
There was nothing about Karen Lee’s early life that destined her for the job she has now, that of a curator with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection in Washington D.C. “We’re Czechoslovak immigrants and my family didn’t feel comfortable in museums,” she says, “We were a lower middle class family. I was not taken … Continue reading
When Radhika Hettiarachchi asked Sri Lankan mothers from North and East for their stories, she knew what she would hear would go beyond them; that their stories would stretch to encompass their children and their husbands, their mothers and fathers, their homes, their work and even their communities. “When you ask a woman about her … Continue reading
Namita Gokhale chooses to give her speech sitting down but makes up for it by delivering an engaging and interesting talk. Considering there is a strike on, the small auditorium in the Colombo University building is surprisingly full. There are perhaps 40 people in the audience – about the number, Namita estimates, that attended some … Continue reading
Growing up, Leah Bazalgette, found herself “hungry for good music.” As an adult, the experience of being one in the surging crowd watching a band perform live, of seeing other “fans screaming in unison as an act they loved, sang a song they loved,” became something precious and incredible. She would go backstage, becoming a … Continue reading
Saskia Fernando keeps her art gallery filled with exquisite things. However, her most prized possession has never been on display. Instead, the delicate miniature sculpture is kept nestled inside her jewellery box. The statue of a venerable teacher with his student is a netsuke, a form of miniature sculpture that was invented in Japan in … Continue reading
We ring the bell and from behind the forbidding black gate a cacophony of barks rises to greet us. A smaller door swings open and Shyam Selvadurai pops out, all smiles. As we pass under the portico, I think that if Great Expectations had been set in Sri Lanka, Mrs. Havisham could have lived in … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 