‘Conceiving Space’, Colombo Art Biennale 2016

Alnoor Mitha (CAB 2016 Curator, left), Hon. John Amarathunga, Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs (center) and Annoushka Hempel, Founding Director of Colombo Art Biennale. Courtesy Colombo Art Biennale.

‘Conceiving Space’, Colombo Art Biennale 2016: A celebration of South Asia’s most innovative emerging and established creative artistic talent
December 2 – 20, 2016

This year sees the fourth edition of The Colombo Art Biennale (CAB), one of the world’s most significant celebration of contemporary South Asian art and culture.  Attracting over 2,500 visitors in its last edition, this year organisers expect it to be the most popular year to date. Curated by Alnoor Mitha, CAB2016 will herald community engagement and educational initiatives with its visual arts and architects programs.  Hosted across ten different famous sites around Colombo, from the Prana Lounge to Slave Island, visitors will enjoy a rich and diverse experience of Sri Lankan art, space and culture.

Founded by gallerist and cultural ambassador Annoushka Hempel in 2009, the mission of the Colombo Art Biennale is to raise the profile of artists in this fast developing market as part of south Asia and beyond.

The theme for CAB2016 is ‘Conceiving Space’, which seeks to re-imagine traditional concepts of the ‘spatial’ in relation to boundaries and engagement. With a focus on emerging Sri Lankan talent, over 73 international and local artists such as Faiza Butt (UK/Pakistan), Cristina Rodrigues (Portuguese) and Chila Kumari Burman (British/Asian) will showcase their work and projects.  Established Sri Lankan artists will act as mentors in order to promote and develop the work and careers of the younger artists involved, these young contemporary artists and diversify the art on view.

The Architectural Program at CAB will provide a rare opportunity for local and international students to learn and assist leading artists and architects in the production of their works.  A number of workshops will also be taking place in the Architect’s Educational programme, which includes 2015 Turner Art Prize winners Studio Assemble (UK) with Madelon Vriesendorp (The Netherlands) allowing artists, architects and students to work in conjunction in favour of the community and education.  This program hopes to assemble useful structures and develop self-sustainability within the Slave Island community.

CAB2016 are also excited to announce that there will be numerous performances conducted prior to, and throughout the biennale, which will also extend beyond the festival, by Mullegema Art Centre, Jayne Dyer in collaboration with Unity Mission Trust, Theertha Performance Platform, Collective of Contemporary Artists (CoCA).

The finale of the program will showcase all projects created over the event bringing together artists, architects and visitors. It will culminate in “The Great Feast” on December 11^th, a community engaged celebration of CAB projects.

Demonstrating the burgeoning content and interest in South Asia’s contemporary art scene, CAB2016 is not only an exciting but essential event in the art world’s calendar. Curator Mitha explains: “My ultimate vision is to create a South Asian artistic hub in Colombo that is inspirational – an artistic journey that captivates the imagination whilst exploring new ideas with young people, and with the local communities who live in Sri Lanka whilst welcoming international delegates.”

For international press inquiries please contact:

Ing Chua-Lee
ing@ktwlondon.com
(+44) 0 7824664850

For Sri Lankan press inquiries please contact:

Minoli Peiris
msmpeiris@gmail.com
(+94) (0)777 907 728

To view a PDF version of the press release, please click here.