KALĀ
KALĀ, defined as "art" in Sanskrit, serves as a platform for showcasing South Asian modern and contemporary art, originating from both the local and diasporic arts community. KALĀ in association with the Lionel Wendt Art Centre aims to provide a new annual platform that contributes to the sustainable development of art ecosystems within the Sri Lankan region and wider South Asia.
KALĀ envisions fostering the growth of this event year after year, seamlessly integrating art projects and exhibitions across Sri Lanka with a diverse calendar of engaging talks, online panel discussions, and immersive workshops. KALĀ adopts a flexible and dynamic approach, encompassing a wide spectrum of artistic projects, ranging from non-profit programme to commercially-driven endeavors such as artist residencies, talks, workshops, and collaborative collectives.
The main exhibition will take place in the Lionel Wendt Centre, an exhibition space which will be relaunched with the inaugural edition of KALĀ The exhibition, “Pivot. Glide. Echo." has been curated by Mariyam Begum, under the guidance of Sandhini Poddar, KALĀ Curatorial Advisor and Adjunct Curator at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project.
For its inaugural edition, the Art South Asia Project is a proud partner for the programming series, KALĀ x ASAP. The talks and workshops, both in person and digitally, are dedicated to the art ecosystem of Sri Lanka and merging it further with South Asia. The vast and vibrant arts and cultural landscape of Sri Lankan art will be celebrated through discussions of modern and contemporary artists within the country, along with the various institutions that strive to create a unified and inclusive art community. These talks and workshops will be balanced by bridging the Sri Lankan art community with the South Asian institutional leaders and creating further dialogues between the country and the region.
KALĀ is scheduled to take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 28 January to 25 February 2024.
KALĀ x ASAP will run from 28 January to 12 February 2024.
https://www.kalasouthasia.com/
Title: What is KALĀ?
Panelists: Saskia Fernando, Founding Director of KALĀ, Mariyam Begum, Curator of “Pivot. Echo. Glide.”, Sandhini Poddar, Curatorial Advisor and Nour Aslam, Executive Director of Art South Asia Project
Title: Lionel Wendt’s Ceylon: Timeless Affiliations
Panelists: Cassie Machado, Artist, in conversation with Dr. Edwin Coomasaru, Academic
Title: Creating Space: South to South Dialogues
Panelists: Diana Campbell, Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit
Title: Sri Lanka in the Global Art Market
Panelists: Amrita Jhaveri, Co-Founder of Jhaveri Contemporary in conversation with Nishad Averi, Head of Department for South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, Christie’s
Title: Reflections on the No Order Group: the 90s in Sri Lanka
Panelists: Artists Jagath Weerasinghe and Chandraguptha Thenuwara in conversation
Title: Insights into Contemporary Practice in Sri Lanka
Panelists: Artists Liz Fernando and Mahen Perera in conversation
Title: How Institutions Think: Designing and Sustaining Institutions in Sri Lanka
Panelists: Rohan de Soysa, Chairman of the Sapumal Foundation in conversation with Shayari de Silva, Chief Curator of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust and Malaka Talwatte, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the George Keyt Foundation