In Plain Sight by filmmaker and photographer Ruvin de Silva is an exposé of Sri Lanka’s strategic disappearances and mass graves. Featuring seven different locations, several of which are in population-dense areas now undergoing development, the film examines urbanisation’s ruthless encroachment on and attempts to altogether erase collective memory. Through oral histories of affected families, activists, and researchers, the film explores the history that led to the endemic problem of unmarked, unprotected graves within local communities and interrogates its influence on the country’s future. 

State in Silence addresses the foundational issues which laid the groundwork for those raised in In Plain Sight including institutionalised violence, justice systems, and the nation-state. Fashioned as a follow-up to In Plain Sight, State in Silence uses a similar methodology of firsthand accounts through interviews to gain perspective on accountability and human rights in the country. Together, the pair presents a rounded view of Sri Lanka’s symbiotic relationship between state-sanctioned terror and the culture of impunity that bolsters it.

Curator, researcher, and director of the Alserkal Arts Foundation Nada Raza will give a talk on the foundation’s research-led residencies, grants, and public programme before charting her exhibition making work to bridge South and West Asia through artistic research and curation. Raza began curating in Dubai in 2005 and has since brought South Asian art into the collections of Green Cardamom, Iniva, and Tate before returning to the UAE to set up the Ishara Art Foundation.

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust has collaborated with Let’s Build Great Things! to create a children’s workshop featuring an arts and architecture-centred activity. This event is part of a larger school holiday programme at the Bawa-designed Ladies’ College Institute of Professional Studies.

For more information and to register, call/email: 0 (11) 257 4194 / info@lcips.lk.

Film and architecture are interwoven art forms, united by their shared articulation of lived space and temporality. The Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s new curated film series, “Sculpted Time: An Architecture-Focused Film Series” emphasizes architecture and built environments as dimensional characters in their own right rather than mere onscreen backdrops. Selected films will span countries and genres, using narrative and montage to unveil multiple layers of meaning inherent in spatial structure.

Join us for the third installment of this series, a screening of Being Here: Stories of Home by writer, editor, and filmmaker Sharni Jayawardena. Jayawardena's documentary tracks four working-class women in Colombo, Sri Lanka whose daily lives are marked by adversity and compounded by the city’s push for “world-class” designation. The ethnographic film explores topics including socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity against a backdrop of violence, hierarchy, and oppression.

Following the screening, light refreshments will be served along with time to mingle and discuss your thoughts on the film!

Free admission and free seating.

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s new film club, “Sculpted Time: An Architecture-Focused Film Series,” highlights the relationship between film and architecture. Selected films will emphasise built environments as dimensional characters within the narrative, rather than mere onscreen backdrops. The series continues with a screening of Nostalgia for the Future by Avijit Mukul Kishore and Rohan Shivkumar on 28th February.

Nostalgia for the Future explores the making of Indian modernity through four distinct buildings erected over the course of a century. Filmmaker Avijit Mukul Kishore and architect Rohan Shivkumar collaborated on the project, which won Best Long Documentary at the 2017 International Documentary and Short Film Festival in Kerala and received the Jury’s Special Mention at the 2017 Signs Film Festival in Kochi.

This event is free and open to the public.  Following the screening, light refreshments will be served along with time to mingle and discuss your thoughts on the film.

In his first site-specific, outdoor installation, Colombo-based artist Firi Rahman drew from the juxtaposition between an urban upbringing and intimate relationship with nature. The resulting work is one that investigates humanity’s relationship to and coexistence with the natural world.

‘In between: the Existence of Firdaus’ has been on view at Lunuganga for the last two months. The two-part piece—featuring both an indoor and outdoor element—engages with the garden and Geoffrey Bawa’s closely-held philosophies around bridging interior and exterior while keeping the relationship between art and ecology at the foreground of his work. Working in tandem with the themes brought forth by the Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s year-long ‘To Lunuganga’ programme, Rahman’s installation is evocative of the artist’s core memories and understanding of the natural world as it adapts to today’s ever-changing landscapes.

On Saturday, 10th February, Rahman will officially launch his installation through a guided afternoon in the garden. In keeping with the personal and reflective conditions which informed the project, the event will allow visitors to glean insight into Rahman’s artistic process through interactive activities and participatory discussion.

The afternoon will begin with an artist-led sketch walk through the garden, ending at the Sandella which currently displays Rahman’s indoor installation, ‘In between: the Existence of Firdaus.’ Participants are required to bring their own sketching materials. Following the walk, Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s Assistant Curator, Aneesha Mustachi will moderate a conversation with the artist at the Field of Jars—the site of the outdoor element of his installation, ‘Perch.’ Refreshments will be served at sunset on the North Terrace. 

‘In between: the Existence of Firdaus’ is open to the public as part of the ‘To Lunuganga’ programme celebrating 75 years of art, architecture, and ecology at Lunuganga. 

Transport
Shuttles will be provided from Colombo at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The cost per shuttle is LKR 1,500 per person (round trip), to be paid to a GBT team member en route. Shuttles will depart from Lunuganga back to Colombo at 7:00 p.m. Please note that shuttle space is limited and available on a first-registered, first-served basis.

Schedule
2:00–4:00 p.m. | Firdaus in process: Sketch-walk with Firi Rahman (Participants to bring their own sketchbooks and pens/pencils)
4:30–5:30 p.m. | Artist talk + tour at Field of Jars
6:00–7:00 p.m. | Sunset refreshments

Film and architecture are interwoven art forms, united by their shared articulation of lived space and temporality. The Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s new curated screening project, “Sculpted Time: An Architecture-Focused Film Series,” emphasises architecture and built environments as dimensional characters in their own right rather than mere onscreen backdrops. Selected films will span countries and genres, using narrative and montage to unveil multiple layers of meaning inherent in spatial structure.

Join us for the first instalment of this series, a screening of “Bawa’s Garden,” by Clara Kraft Isono, on 30th January.

"Bawa’s Garden" is a meditative exploration of the life and work of Geoffrey Bawa, directed by Clara Kraft Isono. The film’s narrator travels across Sri Lanka, interviewing Bawa’s friends and colleagues, collecting anecdotes and insights, revealing a philosophy which extends far beyond the craft of architecture.
Clara Kraft Isono is an architect, filmmaker and academic. She established Kraft Isono, a multidisciplinary film and architecture studio in 2013.

Register here

Join us for a new series of talks on architecture and design at Number 11, kicking off on January 4 with Rolf Fehlbaum. Born in Basel, Switzerland, Rolf is a social science scholar with a PhD in utopian socialism. He became CEO and later Chairman of Vitra, forging partnerships with leading designers like Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, and more for the iconic Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein. He's also renowned for founding the Vitra Design Museum in 1989, a premier institution for twentieth-century furniture. In this informal conversation, he will describe the Vitra project.

Limited seats, register on https://bit.ly/vitra-talk

Presentations by the Prince Claus Seed Awardees, titled Seeds for the Future, is followed by a conversation between HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands and artistic director Keng Sen Ong. The evening will conclude with a performance by Hania Luthufi and the musical collective Saṅkhāra, with details below:

Saṅkhāra, which means "formations or phenomena in the sea of impermanence" in Pali and Sanskrit, is a rolling collective of musicians whose sound interprets folk melodies and ragas from Southeast Asia.

The members of this collective are many and scattered around the world. The yearning to push musical boundaries beyond classical and traditional brings them together, at times as a duo, trio, or quartet, and even as larger orchestral ensembles.

This performance is a convergence of melodic motifs and traditional drumming patterns of the Southeast Asian region with Vairavapillai Venilaan on Mridangam, Uvindu Perera on Double Bass, Sujeewa Ranasingha on Esraj, Hania Mariam Luthufi on Vocals, and a guest musician on Tabla.

Refreshments will be provided.

Register here

TRANSPORT
If you signed up for a shuttle bus, please ensure you board the time you selected (1:00 PM/3:00 PM). All shuttle buses will depart back to Colombo at 9:00 pm after the events have concluded.

If you are driving, please park on Elpitiya Road. Shuttles will be available to transport you to Lunuganga at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

Join members of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust Curatorial Team for 20-minute walkthroughs of various art installations on display at Lunuganga.

Register here

Please note: These tours will occur simultaneously and attendees may choose which one they would like to attend (time only for 1). All groups will meet at the Information Desk at Lunuganga.

Fluid Geographies (Reena Kallat): Aneesha Mustachi

The Order of Nature: Thilini Perera

In between: the Existence of Firdaus by Firi Rahman: Shayari de Silva

Channa Daswatte, prominent architect and protégé-turned-friend of Geoffrey Bawa, will lead a tour of the late architect’s garden residence.

Register here

Cultural History of lighting seen through the exhibition “a light through time” with Dr. Asoka de Zoysa.

This discussion on artificial lighting was set off by the current exhibition on Lamps in the Geoffrey Bawa Art and Archival Collection. The exhibition is currently on view at Number 11 until 17 September 2023 and is curated by Aneesha Mustachi.

Register Here

Open House Colombo in Bentota: Gardens and Green spaces

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust, as organiser of Open House Colombo in conjunction with Open House Worldwide will organise two days of access to gardens and green spaces of note in Bentota (2023) and Colombo (2024). Open House Worldwide is a network of more than 50 organisations hosting festivals and conversations about architecture, design and cities across the globe.

The finalised schedule will be emailed to those who register closer to the event date.

Eventbrite

[details coming soon]

A cross-continental collaboration on gardens as ontologies with Sitio Burle Marx and the Geoffrey Bawa Trust.

Join us for the 20th Annual Memorial Lecture: On Gardens: Burle Marx and Bawa. A talk by Isabela Ono, Director of Instituto Burle Marx Rio de Janeiro with Shayari de Silva, Chief Curator, Geoffrey Bawa Trust.

Isabela Ono, Executive Director of the Burle Marx Institute, is the daughter of Burle Marx’s closest collaborator and creative heir, Haruyoshi Ono.

Register Here

Join Geoffrey Bawa Trust Chairperson Channa Daswatte for a tour of Lunuganga!

Geoffrey Bawa purchased a neglected rubber plantation on Sri Lanka’s south coast in Bentota, in January 1948, on the eve of Sri Lanka’s independence from British colonial rule. From the onset, Bawa was intent on finding a land with a connection to the water, and it took a considerable search to arrive at Lunuganga. Upon seeing the land, Bawa at once knew that with some operations, it could be transformed as he envisioned.

The salty water of the lake, which is actually a lagoon branching from the Bentota River, explains Bawa’s name for the garden; “lunu-ganga” or “salt-river”. Bawa also lowered the ridge of the hill here to be able to catch a glimpse of the water at the far end and placed a large antique Chinese jar whose silhouette catches the eye as it sweeps over the hill towards the southern horizon.

Bawa continued to shape and change Lunuganga until the very end of his practice; when he was taken ill and immobile. In fact, he continued to spend time in the gardens even in the final stages of his life; and the soothing qualities of the place prevail even today. It is both an ever-transient place and one where time stands still; a subtle change in the position of the sun or the direction of the wind will completely change the dance of the leaves at Lunuganga and its entire atmosphere. Yet it feels as though the gardens have always been there, we feel assured that it will remain.

Channa Daswatte joined Geoffrey Bawa’s architecture practice in 1991 and was the last partner of the firm. In 1998, he established MICD Associates, where he is a principal, in partnership with Murad Ismail. Channa was the Chairperson of the Galle Heritage Foundation and has worked on a number of architectural, conservation and curatorial projects, including the 'Corridors of Power' installation which was exhibited at the Dhaka Art Summit in 2018. Channa authored and edited Sri Lanka Style (2005), has written for and edited a number of publications including A+U and Sri Lanka Institute of Architects’ Journal. Channa is the Chairperson of the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts.

Register Here

Join architect Amila de Mel for a tour of Number 5, Ena de Silva's house!

In 1962 Ena de Silva and her husband Osmund commissioned Geoffrey Bawa to design their home in an modest plot in the heart of Colombo. Bawa's design negotiated the increasing urbanity of the site with an introspective design which was both radically modern and drew inspiration from traditional architectural tropes in Sri Lanka, like the central courtyard. The success of the design makes the house a pivotal project in Bawa's career. It was also the beginning of a deep friendship between Ena and her architect.

In 2009 when Ena wished to sell the land the house was built on, the Lunuganga Trust worked with a team of architects, archaeologists and engineers to careful disassemble the house and rebuild it stone by stone at Lunuganga, where it stands today.

Amila de Mel began her architectural training at MassArt in Boston, Massachusetts, prior to working with C. Anjalendran in Colombo for a year and a half. Later she joined Geoffrey Bawa where she worked for five years, principally on the Kandalama Hotel whilst being involved in the diverse range of projects flowing through Geoffrey Bawa’s studio. In 1995 she departed for further studies in architecture at the University of East London, finally returning to Sri Lanka to set up her own practice in 2000.

ADM Architects is a multidisciplinary design studio that strives to celebrate local materials, incorporate traditional crafts and to bring in the outdoors wherever possible. The practice takes great pride in the recent renovation of the Druvi de Saram House, designed by Geoffrey Bawa along with the relocation of the Ena de Silva house from Colombo to Geoffrey Bawa’s country estate, Lunuganga.

Amila has served on the National Board of Habitat for Humanity, Sri Lanka for over a decade. Her proposal for Housing with an emphasis on alternate technologies has received a European Union Grant for the construction of over 3000 houses in the North and East of the island.

Register Here

[details coming soon]

Professor Sarath Kotagama is a former Director, Department of Wildlife Conservation and Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Wildlife Resources Conservation. He is also the Chairman of BirdLife Asia, and council member of BirdLife International.

Register Here

Boats to Honduwa island to see hog deer [details coming soon]

Dates:

Saturday, 22 July
6.30 a.m. – 8.00 a.m. SLST

Sunday, 23 July
6.30 a.m. – 8.00 a.m. SLST

[details coming soon]

Join the launch of installations by Reena Saini Kallat and introduction of participating artists Sumayya Vally and Firi Rahman in forthcoming seasons moderated by Suhanya Raffel, Trustee and Executive Director of M+ Hong Kong, at Lunuganga.

Mumbai-based artist, Reena Saini Kallat works with diverse media to deliberate conflict and co-existence. Anchored in archival research, Reena’s artworks probe critically into history, collective memory, identity, and perception through careful considerations of material such as official records, state-constitutions, maps, and archaeological surveys. With her keen attention to ecosystems and indigenous vegetation, Reena is invited to make an installation at the garden that builds on the themes of her practice.

Sumayya Vally is a South African architect and the principle of Counterspace. Sumayya’s practice centres narrative, identity, and memory in the city. She designed the 20th Serpentine Pavilion in 2020/1, the youngest architect ever to receive this prestigious commission. Sumayya is invited to engage with Lunuganga approaching the gardenas an initial instigator for the exchange of deeply rooted local practices,and the collaborative consideration of ecological and sustainability related heritage issues, as explored by Sumayya’s practice.

Firi Rahman is a multidisciplinary artist whose work considers the relationships that people and endangered species have with their environments. His work has questioned the rise of endangered species in Sri Lanka, and has explored the similarities between exploitationand cultural tradition. He is particularly interested in the interactions between animals and urban environments, and the responsibility societies share in protecting biodiversity. Firi is invited to conduct artistic research during two weeks at Lunuganga, responding to the garden and his experience to create an installation on site.

Register Here

Premier of ‘Bawa’s Garden’ at Scope Cinemas, followed by a Q+A with Director Clara Kraft moderated by Mariah Lookman

Bawa’s Garden is a meditative exploration of the life and work of Geoffrey Bawa, directed by Clara Kraft Isono. The film’s narrator travels across Sri Lanka, interviewing Bawa’s friends and colleagues, collecting anecdotes and insights, revealing a philosophy which extends far beyond the craft of architecture. Clara Kraft Isono is an architect, filmmaker and academic. She established Kraft Isono, a multidisciplinary film and architecture studio in 2013. The screening of Bawa’s Garden will be followed by a Q&A with the director.

[details coming soon]

Join a curated tour of the de Saram House, designed by Geoffrey Bawa in 1986 for clients Druvi and Sharmini de Saram.

In 1986 Geoffrey Bawa undertook the renovation of two small houses at Ward Place for Druvi and Sharmini de Saram. In April 2019 the Lunuganga Trust took on the management of the house Bawa designed, having worked with the de Sarams to fully restore this lyrical house. The restoration was part of the Trust’s programme to conserve Bawa buildings and sustain their ongoing operation and maintenance. Druvi is one of Sri Lanka’s most acclaimed pianists, and the house is designed with a music room at its centre.

As part of the de Saram house restoration, the Trust also undertook the conservation and display of key art works in the Bawa art collection and the de Saram family art collection. An intrinsic part of the experience of the de Saram house, these works form a crucible display of works from the '43 Group, who were a catalysing force behind the development of 20th century Sri Lankan Art.

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Join a curated tour of Geoffrey Bawa's Colombo Residence!

Number `11 (1960-1970), Geoffrey Bawa's Colombo residence is considered a special architectural marvel which also houses art and artefacts from the collection of the late Geoffrey Bawa. The curatorial team of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust will lead an intimate tour of the property.

Register Here