Making History: Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s pre-eminent platform for international dialogue in contemporary art, the Colombo Art Biennale (CAB14), which opens 31 January, will feature works by artists and collectives from 12 countries. This year’s biennale adopts the theme Making History and explores the artistic adventure of the creation of history and ideas such as man’s desire to invent the future and the implications of the past on the human condition.

Painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, audio and performances by artists from Sri Lanka, the South Asian region, Europe and the USA will be displayed in a showcase curated by the CAB14 team. Curators include Amit Kumar Jain, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Neil Butler and Ruhanie Perera. In addition to the main program, CAB14 will feature Art Talks, a series of panel discussions, site-specific lectures and live art moments that will open spaces for dialogue, debate and participation. Running in conjunction with the Biennale will be a variety of cultural events including Colomboscope: a three day program that will explore interdisciplinary approaches combining literary events, debates, performing arts and music programs from Sri Lanka, UK and Germany.

An educational programme for children in Colombo will also feature. The programme, supported by Hong Kong based Sovereign Asian Art Foundation (Art Prize) and led by 2011 SAP prize winning artist Pala Pothupitiye, it will help improve artistic skills and tourism awareness in the local community by teaching skills to create art and crafts.

Making History: Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka, 30 Jan –9 Feb 2014, Sri Lanka, 30/3 Barnes Place, Colombo 07.

Credits
1. Achala de Silva AOD CAB 2012.