Artists take to the street
Jayanthi Liyanage
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Selecting
paintings |
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Creations
on display. Pictures by Ruwan de Silva |
Kala Pola 2010, the open air art fair held on the side walks of
Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7, on February 21 was a very
colourful event, organised by the George Keyt Foundation (GKF) and
sponsored by John Keells Holdings.
Stalls of artist cache flanked the street while the pavement in the
middle was a display strip of eye catching paintings. Even before the
formal opening at 10 a.m., families, children, tourists and art lovers
in general were going around, taking in the bright and varied array of
art on show. Some customers had already pounced on their pick.
There was a wide collection of paintings to choose from, spanning
from modern art to traditional temple paintings and more novel wood
burning art, pictures done from wood shavings and paintings done with
house interiors in mind. Not stopping at paintings, even sculpture, post
cards and other art objects were available for sale.
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Capturing a
painting |
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| An exhibit
made of metal bolts |
A child
looks at an art |
The artists had come from many parts of Sri Lanka, from a broad
spectrum of fields.
There were professional artists engaged full time in art, employees
of other areas dabbling in art as a supplementary income earner and
undergraduates and graduates of the University of Visual Arts.
Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K. Kantha, the chief
guest, was ushered in a procession of traditional dancers, raban players
and stilt walkers and an elephant clad in a John Keells Social
Responsbility Foundation apparel.
High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka Ashok K. Kantha said that
Kala Pola is the most talked about event in Sri Lanka’s cultural
calendar.
“George Keyt belongs to the region as whole,” he emphasised, adding
that an initiative has been taken to organise a major exhibition of his
work in India on the same day as Kala Pola.
He hoped that Kala Pola from 2011 would be a regional event for South
Asia and would have the participation of artists from India as well and
later artists from the region.
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| A painting
of a female |
A painting
of mat weavers |
An exhibit |
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Artists say ...
* Mahesh Jayasekera - This
is the first time I am taking part in Kala Pola with my
modern art and traditional temple style paintings.
* Raju Ramlan - This is my
tenth participation in Kala Pola. The event should be held
several times a year. If the Government and the Tourism
Ministry sponsors such an event, more tourists will come.
GKF has lent a hand for unknown artists.
* Sanath Rajapaksha - I’ve
come with my sculpture and art. I have been with Kala Pola
throughout and think it is a very good opportunity for
artists. If our creations are of a good standard, we get
good customer connections.
* Kanathigoda - I have
participated from the very first Kala Pola. Even in an
exhibition, you cannot see such a wide variety of art as you
see in Kala Pola. This is the most successful event of GKF.
But customers seem to be less this year.
* Chandani Jayawardena -
This is my third participation. This is a good chance for us
artists to measure our true worth, in comparison with other
artists. We directly get a honest feed back which we don’t
get at an exhibition.
* Rasika Wickremasinghe -
This is my fifth participation. Looks like sales are good
this time. My art is for interiors.
* Deepal de Silva - Kala
Pola is a good opportunity for young artists like us. I am a
full time artist doing temple style paintings.
* Anoma Jayaratne - In Sri
Lanka, opportunities for artists are minimal. In other
countries, they have place even on roadside. Therefore, Kala
Pola is good.
* Sahan Samaraweera - For
budding artists, Kala Pola is a very good venue. This time
there is a large number of artists participating.
* Susil Senanayake - This is
a good venue for us to highlight our creations.
* Alfred Ratnayake - This
time the organisers did not erect stall for us and we had to
do it ourselves.
* Ashoka Mahawatte - I have
participated from the first Kala Pola. Now we have more
artists than customers. Supply is more than the demand and
prices are decreasing. We, professional artistes, now have
to compete with university students. If Kala Pola is held
several times a year, the situation would be better.
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