John Keells Foundation supports local artists at Cinnamon Colomboscope

by Shrutee K/DNS

Colombo. August 2016. EUNIC Sri Lanka together with Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts presents the fourth edition of Cinnamon Colomboscope; a contemporary and multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in Colombo. This year, the festival will be titled ‘Testing Grounds: Art and Digital Cultures in South Asia and Europe’ and will be held from 25 August to 1 September at the Former General Post Office, Fort.

Digital technology plays a significant role in Sri Lanka and its position in an increasingly globalized, business driven world. The theme ‘Testing Grounds’ conceived by curator Susanne Jaschko will focus on contemporary art that reflects on how digital technologies impact and shape the perception and conception of the world.

Arts and Culture is one of the key focus areas of the John Keells Foundation and since electronic and digital media remains a widely unexplored field among artists living and working in Sri Lanka, this year’s Cinnamon Colomboscope is the perfect platform to inspire Sri Lankan artists to embrace the digital arts and contribute towards a well-recognized festival.  This year’s festival has commissioned over 10 Sri Lankan artists and artist collectives who have been supported by the John Keells Foundation to venture into the space of digital arts.

 “Promoting arts is important not only as a mean of supporting artists and improving their livelihoods but it has the ability to inspire – foster creativity, goodness and beauty, it helps us express our values, build bridges between cultures and bring us together regardless of our religion, ethnicity or age. That is what Cinnamon Colomboscope is about and I am excited to be a part of bringing arts and culture to the forefront” said Nadija Tambiah – Head of CSR at John Keells Foundation.

Visual artist, Kavan Balasuriya will exhibit Foundation which is an abstract drawing that can be interpreted to the relationship between the individual and the increasingly dynamic virtual environment of post-war Sri Lanka. From Vendetta to Bend Data, a series of digital collages by independent filmmaker and artist, Muvindu Binoy depicts the paradox between Sri Lankan’s real- and virtual-selves.

Photographer, Aamina Nizar (who studied in Mumbai’s Sophia College for Women) and journalist/photographer, Megara Tegal will present The Colombo Project which is an installation, portrays the neighbourhoods alongside the Kirulapone Canal and explores the role of social media in the lives of the people in Colombo, a city that still faces a huge social divide.

‘Emerge + Tech’ by the Collective of Contemporary Artists (CoCA) is a Sri Lankan art organization will feature a touch sensitive sensor that will generate a soothing sound from each plant. By interacting with individual plants, the audience can create musical compositions.

Imaad Majeed, The Ramadan Project, Isaac Smith and Sumudi Suraweera, Krishnapriya Tharmakrishnar, Malaka Dewapriya, DJ Sunara and sound artist, Dinelka are also Sri Lankan artists supported by the John Keells Foundation who will feature at this year’s Cinnamon Colomboscope.

The festival programme will also feature DJ and electronic music producer, Asvajit Boyle, and technologist and entertainment designer, Lalindra Amarasekara who will collaborate to transform the domed roof of the Colombo Planetarium in a digital canvas for an immersive live performance of light, sound and movement. (De)Generative Processes will take place on 28 August at 7.00 p.m 

An immersive theatre performance ‘Close to the Bone’ is a collaboration between actor and director Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke and experimental musician Isuru Kumarasinghe. The performance is another festival highlight and will allow access inside each of the character's minds, hear their thoughts, memories and regrets through your own mobile device.

This year’s Cinnamon Colomboscope will also feature over 15 international artists who will engage and share experiences with the local artists and create a platform for engagement and learning that will help local artists gain greater exposure and recognition.

Similar to Cinnamon Colomboscope, John Keells Foundation is involved in other initiatives that help celebrate, sustain and promote the careers of Sri Lankan Artists, such as, ‘Kala Pola’ , an annual open air art fair organized in association with the George Keyt Foundation, features more than 300 artists and 22,000 visitors  annually, will take place for the 24^th edition in January 2017, and the Sri Lankan Art Gallery (www.srilankanartgallery.com),  an online platform that enables artists to showcase and sell their work to local and foreign buyers.

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is the title sponsor of Cinnamon Colomboscope 2016 and the event is organised by EUNIC Sri Lanka comprising of the British Council, Goethe-Institut and Alliance Française de Kotte. The festival is supported by the John Keells Foundation, Cinnamon Life, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, MBC/MTV, iFilm Sri Lanka, Debug, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of the Netherlands, Turkish Embassy, German Embassy Teheran and the Universite Laval. The festival is held in venue partnership with the Ministry of Post and Postal Services.