Bringing diversity of art together
Ishara Jayawardane
Theertha is an artist led initiative. They have been organizing
workshops for almost 10 years. The institute seeks to bring artists
together to share and learn how others work.
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Discussions underway |
“Generally we have workshops which are about 14 days long. We invite
artists from other countries. So this time we have six artists from
Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Malaysia and also 11
artists from Sri Lanka” said Theertha Art Manager Lalith Manage.
These artists workshops were the events that popularized new art
forms such as performances and installations. One aim was to create
cultural dialog and connections.
“But now web communication is a cheap and easy method. Now we are
thinking of how to evolve this workshop model into something fruitful
and creative to meet the needs of the time.
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Artists join hands for creativity |
“This year’s workshop is basically connected to long term research,”
Manage noted. He added that at the emergence of new technology, the
environment might not be right for you to display your creative visual
work. You need a bit of time.
He noted: “Theertha does art activities. We are a non profit artist
led artist run organization. We have workshops and the longer versions
which are called residencies. These go on for about one month. We are
also engaged in community intervention, art, heritage and culture.”
“I expect artists to take part and enhance their art but nowadays it
is very difficult to categorize art. We try to promote art and we are
very serious about it. There is another dimension which is the
intellectual aspect of it. We consider art and artists as something very
intellectual. We see art as a process of knowledge making,” he added.
Theertha also holds programs for women artists. They provide them
with exhibition halls, printing and material costs to make it easier for
them to showcase their creativity. Lakisha Fernando coordinates this
sector.
Khanyisile Mbongaa is a performing artist who had been invited to
take part in the workshop. “I am working on how religion constructs the
body, how the body is like a sexual entity, religion as a social
construction and how they are always in conflict.
“It is a matter of exploring how these two aspects need to exist on
the same body. There is always a conflict between moral issues,
decisions and circumstances,” he opined.
The workshop concludes on September 25. There will be an exhibition
of the artist’s works based on the theme ‘Urban landscapes and human
geographies’. Entrance free. |
