Curated walkthrough at the seventh edition of Colomboscope in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The seventh edition of Colomboscope concluded on January 30, 2022. The festival ran across six major locations around the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The multi-disciplinary event created an immersive art experience welcoming people from all walks of life to engage with some of the best practices from the region. A one-of-its-kind festivals, Colomboscope has led the way to introduce cutting-edge contemporary art to the local audience, layering it with educational initiatives. This edition, postponed from 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborated with Chobimela (Bangladesh), The Gujral Foundation (India), Ishara Art Foundation (Dubai), and Warehouse 421 (Abu Dhabi) – where the festival will travel to, in parts.

Natasha Ginwala, Creative Director of Colomboscope, says “Historical precarities and volatile conditions are not new to Sri Lanka. And therefore, the pandemic was one such hurdle to overcome for this edition.” Anushka Rajendran, Festival Curator, emphasised on movement and circulation, oceanic and tectonic drifts, being integral to all life forms. Thematically, the festival focussed on the linguistic and cultural forms that have emerged and evolved at the cross currents of these movements.

We take a curated walkthrough at two of the significant venues – Colombo Public Library and Rio Complex. The library is the country’s largest one and houses a war memorial. Art works were installed at various places throughout the library adding a dynamic contextual layer for the works to be experienced. Rio Complex, in contrast, is an erstwhile hotel building with a cinema. It was attacked during the 1983 Civil War, providing a memory chamber with several kinds of histories of the country.

Watch the walkthrough by clicking on the cover video.

STIR is the exclusive international digital-media partner of the seventh edition of Colomboscope 2021, that took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from January 20-30, 2022.

See the exclusive coverage here.