Collaborators

Institutional

Ena de Silva Foundation (Matale, Sri Lanka)

Instituto Burle Marx (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum (New York, USA)

Royal College of Art (London, UK)

University of Peradeniya (Peradeniya, Sri Lanka)

University of Sri Jayewardenapura (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Astronomical Research Institute (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

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Individual

Amila de Mel studied at MassArt in Boston, Massachusetts, prior to working with C. Anjalendran in Colombo for a year and a half. Later she joined Geoffrey Bawa where she worked for five years, principally on the Kandalama Hotel whilst being involved in the diverse range of projects flowing through Geoffrey Bawa’s studio. In 1995 she departed for further studies in architecture at the University of East London, finally returning to Sri Lanka to set up her own practice, ADM Architects, in 2000. The practice takes great pride in the recent renovation of the Druvi de Saram House, designed by Geoffrey Bawa along with the relocation of the Ena de Silva house from Colombo to Geoffrey Bawa’s country estate, Lunuganga. Amila has served on the National Board of Habitat for Humanity, Sri Lanka for over a decade. Her proposal for Housing with an emphasis on alternate technologies has received a European Union Grant for the construction of over 3000 houses in the North and East of the island.

Aquila Peris joined the architects firm Messrs after a childhood in America and completing schooling at S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, . Edwards Reid & Begg at No.2 Alfred House Road, Colombo 03 in 1983 as an apprentice designer for Geoffrey Bawa. It was an interesting time as many talented architects, designers, artists, sculptors, engineers, builders and musicians were there and contributed greatly to his designs. A few years later Aquila acquired formal training and was inducted into the inaugural first batch of the SLIA School of Architecture in 1986. In the early 1990s Aquila started designing and working on his own projects and—together with Geoffrey—designed and built his own house.

Chathuri Nissansala is a multidisciplinary artist, a third generation  survivor and witness to the civil war, her works raise poignant questions on nationalism,  queer ecologies, cultural identity and on intergenerational trauma through dissection of the word ‘mother’ as a site of violence.

Recipient of the Commonwealth Scholarship, South East Asia by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, ICCR (2012), acquired a Master's in Visual Arts (Painting) from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara (2019). She’s been nominated for “The Emerging artist award (2022-23 years)”, by The Arts Family, London.

She has performed and exhibited across Asia, include her solo exhibition Ritualizing the disfigured: Memorials of healing from Sri Lanka by Anant art gallery, Delhi; Rehang, curated by Uthra Rajgopal and Anant art, Bikaner House, Delhi ( 2021), Responses to Memory, curated by Oorja Garg at Gillehri Arts initiative (2020); Kal, collaboration between district school at Berlin, Goethe institute Karachi and Colombo.

Clara Kraft Isono is an award winning filmmaker and fully registered UK based architect. Founder and Director of Kraft Isono a multidisciplinary design practice, working in architecture, film and design, she shares her time between creative practice and academia. Her films have been screened at the Architectural Association, The National Gallery and The Royal Academy of Arts, in London and various international film festivals including Raindance Film Festival, London, Shanghai International Film Festival, New York Independent Film Festival, Clermont Ferrand Film Festival and Mexico International Film Festival. Clara’s doctoral research looked at the intersection between architecture and film and her creative practice is strongly embedded in academia having taught since 2000 including at, The Bartlett School of Architecture, Westminster University and the University of East London. Currently she is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the Royal College of Art, were she runs the interdisciplinary film and architecture design studio, ADS6. She holds a Film by Practice PhD from the University of Exeter, a Masters in Filmmaking from the London Film School, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture from the Architectural Association.

Dr. Danister Perera is an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) expert, who gained his postgraduate qualifications in sociology and ethnobotany and is involved in research in the fields of indigenous knowledge, cultural anthropology, medicinal plants and related subjects. Authored several scientific publications including books, manuals, monographs, chapters and papers. Currently serving in national, regional bodies of ICH and MoW programs of UNESCO and as a visiting lecturer in two universities. Rendered the service as the Registrar of Ayurveda Medical Council and the Director of Sri Lanka Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants Project. He is also working as the Chairman of the National Expert Committee of Traditional Knowledge, under the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and is a member of the National Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

Firi Rahman’s work is often concerned with the contentious relationship between humankind and the animal kingdom. He is particularly interested in the interactions between animals and urban environments, and the responsibility societies share in protecting biodiversity. His works, brought to life through his sombre and monochromatic style, are an intimate and sensitive engagement with wildlife. Even in their minimalism, the dexterity of his skill and close engagement with the subject imbues it with a palpable quality — compelling an empathetic response from the viewer. He is a co-founder of We Are From Here, a collective project which highlights a deeply interconnected community in Slave Island whose home-base is increasingly threatened by gentrification for state and corporate interests. Firi earned a Foundation in Art and Design from City and Guilds at Manchester College in the United Kingdom. Firi’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Arts, Sri Lanka, and Colomboscope. He was also selected for the Cité Internationales des Arts residency in France (2023).

Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne is a passionate naturalist who has written and photographed over 25 books and over 400 articles. He has popularized birds, mammals, butterflies, dragonflies and trees and wild flowers commencing with a series of pictorial guides which dates back to 2001. He is widely credited as the person who branded Sri Lanka as a top wildlife destination. He combined science, fieldwork, writing, photography, publishing and business skills with a flair for taking a story to local and international print and film media. For over eight years he has been Chairperson of the London Bird Club (LBC), one of the sections of the London Natural History Society (LNHS).

GINI Outdoor Kitchen merges the traditional practice of cooking over an open flame with contemporary takes on locally-sourced ingredients and spices. Derived from the Sinhala word for fire, “gindara,” GINI works with suppliers across the island to highlight fresh produce and proteins prepared using an array of firewood.

The restaurant’s open kitchen allows diners a full view of the live fire cooking process. Since its Colombo opening in August of 2023, GINI has developed a reputation for thoughtful and innovative seasonal menus accompanied by an imaginative craft cocktail selection.

Isabela Ono is Founder and Executive Director of the Burle Marx Institute. She is a landscape architect with a master’s degree in urbanism. Isabela has more than 25 years of professional experience in the landscape design area, working directly with Haruyoshi Ono, her father, Roberto Burle Marx's creative partner for almost 30 years. Since the beginning of her career, she worked in the development of a multitude of landscape projects, and in parallel worked in the archive, supporting academic researchers and co-curated content for exhibitions and publications on the Burle Marx’s legacy, being an expert on the subject. She has recently curated two exhibitions in Brazil (2021 and 2023). Isabela inherited her father’s passion for the landscape profession and belief in the relevance of preserving the Burle Marx landscape collective collection through making them accessible globally, opening possibilities to think of new meanings from this legacy.  Isabela believes in the collection and their concepts and narratives to spread the philosophy on the well-being of individuals – by incorporating nature and artistry – to create the possibility of the “utopian urban environment” and inspiring new, greener and healthier visions of the future of the cities.

Kasro Ponnuthurai is a queer writer and poet whose interests are rooted in the five-genre thinai landscape theory of Sangam literature. Four of his poems will be included in the forthcoming anthology, Out of Sri Lanka. He is the Founder and Director of the Jaffna Queer Festival. He is particularly excited by the upcoming edition under the theme 'Animal Behavior', as it allows him to combine his professional background in veterinary medicine with cultural work in an interdisciplinary way.

Mariah Lookman is an artist and educator working across the disciplines of drawing, video, sound and curating as a studio-based discipline. Key research interests are art and the history of ideas. She is particularly interested in the exploration of abstract thought and poetics for understanding political subjectivity and recuperating knowledge systems that were overtaken by colonial conquests. As an educationalist, she works on institution building, curricula innovation, and areas of post-conflict rebuilding and reconciliation through the arts education. More recently, she has been exploring the boundaries between landscape architecture, garden as a healing system combined with music/sound and film. Her most recent exhibitions were at Ishara Art Foundation (UAE) 2023, 17th Edition of the Istanbul Biennial (Turkiye), the Colomboscope (Sri Lanka) and Asian Art Biennial (Taiwan) in 2022. Mariah Lookman’s undergraduate degree is from the National College of Arts, Lahore (BFA 1997), Master of Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, London (MA 2001) and Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Art from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford (D.Phil., 2015). She presently teaches on the graduate program at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi and lives between Galle, Sri Lanka and Karachi, Pakistan.

Mulle Widanalage Amarasiri, Head Gardener of Lunuganga, has been tending to the garden since his youth in 1985. His love for Lunuganga and the art of gardening began at a tender age when he would visit the garden to watch the gardeners prune trees. He was taken under the guidance of Geoffrey Bawa and would run messages of instructions to the gardeners. Thus, learning the artistry behind the garden from Bawa himself. These learnt principles still guide the decisions surrounding the maintenance and care of the trees, and the upkeep of the visual experience intended by Bawa. As the years and seasons have worn down paths, uprooted trees and shifted the landscape, Amarasiri has met these challenges with swift action, tenderness and ingenuity. In the recent years he has been nurturing a young generation of gardeners on the care and preservation of the garden, with the hope that they may also be enamoured with the whimsy and beauty of Lunuganga.

Phusathi Liyanaarachchi is a poet and writer based in Sri Lanka. Her writing has appeared in Indian Literature and Love in the Time of Corona: A Chronicle of the Pandemic. Having graduated with an honour’s degree in English, she works as the Programme Officer at the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies.  Her research interests straddle Comparative Literature, Religious Studies and South Asian Studies with a focus on psychoanalysis, femininities, and poetics. She also works as an independent editor, translator and a creative contributor at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sri Lanka. Her debut poetry collection, Becomes Water is forthcoming this year.

Photographed by Malaka Weligodapola

Dr. Ravibandu Vidyapathi is a choreographer, dancer, musician, and painter whose career and work has long championed traditional dance and music in Sri Lanka. Ravibandu studied classical Kandyan dance under Gurus Chitrasena and Vajira and traditional drumming under percussionists Guru Piyasara Shilpadhipathi and Guru Punchiguru.

Ravibandu has performed in 40 countries at venues including The Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Museum, and Sadler's Wells Theatre in addition to appearances at the World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival. He seamlessly moves across genres and has choreographed 20 original ballets. In addition to dance, Ravibandu has significantly advanced the art of traditional drumming across the island and introduced it to international audiences. Ravibandu is the recipient of the Kala Keerthi Award and the Bunka Award. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Visual and Performing Arts. Today, Ravibandu’s work as a dance pioneer continues through a dance troupe and company founded in tandem with his wife Samanthi.

Reena Saini Kallat was born in Delhi in 1973. Her interest in political and social borders  and their fierce cleaving through land, people, and nature resonates with the continuing aftershocks of  the Partition in India, which her paternal family experienced. She investigates borders, citizenship, maps, and archives; reinscribing these in the collective imagination through large-scale installations, drawing, photography, sculpture, and video. Kallat’s work has been exhibited at numerous solo exhibitions including Deep Rivers Run Quiet at the Kunstmuseum Thun,  Common Ground, Compton  Verney, UK (2022); Leaking Lines, Firstsite, UK (2022); Deep Rivers Run Quiet, Norrtalje Konsthall, Sweden (2021); Verso-Recto-Recto-Verso, Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet Museum, Paris (2020); Blind Spots, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai (2019); Earth Families, Manchester Museum, (2017); Woven Chronicle at Offsite, VancouverArt Gallery (2015); ZegnArt Public Project, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum (2013). She has also exhibited widely at numerous group exhibitions and biennales across the globe.

Sandali Kandambi is a writer with an honour’s degree in Literary Criticism from the University of Kelaniya. She worked as a journalist for the newspaper Anidda and currently works as a freelance writer and critic.

Sarath Kotagama is a Sri Lankan ornithologist and environmentalist. He holds a BSc from the University of Colombo and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen, focusing on the behavioural ecology of the rose-ringed parakeet. Kotagama served as a lecturer at the University of Colombo and the Open University of Sri Lanka, and as Director of the Department of Wildlife Conservation. He was appointed Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Colombo and later became Professor Emeritus. Kotagama has been a consultant to various organisations and held leadership roles in conservation societies. He received the "2003 Distinguished Service Award for Environment Education and Journalism" from the International Society for Conservation Biology. The endemic toad species Duttaphrynus kotagamai was named in his honour. In 2017, he was awarded the title of Vidya Jyothi by the Government of Sri Lanka. 

Salome Nanayakkara is an artist based in Sri Lanka, who works mostly with recycled metal and other found objects. She has master’s degrees in English and in Counselling and Psychosocial work from the University of Colombo and works full time as a psychotherapist. Her art is informed largely by her practice in psychotherapy, which she uses to explore the complexities of human emotion and experience and the healing agency of creative practice.

Sanjeewa Wijesundara is a passionate designer and researcher who uses knowledge and creativity for innovative solutions in the fashion and textiles industry. He works as an industrial designer and is conducting his postgraduate research at the University of Moratuwa. His research focuses on current and historical influence of power, culture and heritage and their links to fashion and customer perceptions.

Shenuka Corea is an animator, illustrator, comic artist and visual storyteller from Colombo, Sri Lanka. She holds a BA from New York University Abu Dhabi majoring in Art and Art History with minors in Theater, Literature and Interactive Media. Shenuka is currently a student at the MFA Visual Narrative Program at SVA, New York.

Shenuka creates work that explores history, nature, ritual, imagination and personal identity. She is interested in the intersections and interactions between knowledge, beliefs and feelings.
Shenuka is the writer and illustrator of the historically based graphic novel ‘Manthiram’ about the spiritual and environmental aspects of the Mannar Pearl Fisheries. She has held two immersive exhibitions of her work at NYUAD in 2019: ‘Hidden Critters’ and ‘Manthiram’.

Shenuka was awarded the Voices With Impact film grant in 2022 for the creation of the animated short film 'The Plastic Horror' which is also part of the lineup for the Agenda 14 Film Festival.
She is currently working on a second graphic novel titled 'A Field Guide to Paradise' exploring themes of knowledge, death and the connection between humans and the natural world.

Photographed by Lou Jasmine

Sumayya Vally is founder and Principal of Counterspace—an award-winning design, research and pedagogical practice searching for expression for hybrid identities and territory, particularly for African and Islamic conditions—both rooted and diasporic. Having taught and lectured widely, her practice operates adjacent to the academy. A WEF Young Global Leader and TIME100 Next list honoree, Vally has been identified as someone who will shape the future of architectural practice and canon. She serves on several boards through her interest in dynamic forms of archive, embodied heritage, and supporting new networks of knowledge in the arts. Vally designed the 20th Serpentine Pavilion in London, making her the youngest architect to do so. With the Serpentine, she has developed Support Structures for Support Structures, which assists artists and collectives working at the intersection of art, social justice, the archive, and ecology. She is the Artistic Director of the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah (January  – May 2023).