2025: A Year in Review
The past twelve months have been one of growth and excitement at the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts. The new dedicated Bawa Space on Horton Place has allowed the Trust to grow both internally and externally, with increased public outreach and engagement. In addition to extensive archival and conservation work, the Trust continues its mission to further the fields of art, architecture, and ecology by encouraging dialogue and promoting knowledge sharing through public events, academic collaborations, and professional partnerships.
The year opened with the Design in the Moment exhibition, followed by the ongoing Ways of Knowing exhibition, open through March 2026. Both exhibitions supported regular public programming, including monthly curatorial tours, workshops, lectures, children’s events, and other programming.
Exhibitions, Public Programmes, and Initiatives
Design in the Moment
On view at the Bawa Space through May 2025, Design in the Moment was a collaboration between Phantom Hands and the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, presenting a re-edited selection of furniture, lighting, and objects designed by Geoffrey Bawa’s practice in the latter half of the twentieth century. Public programming included monthly curatorial tours, a talk by Phantom Hands co-founder Aparna Rao, and a well-attended furniture origami workshop led by Colombo-based artist Shazad Synon.
Following the exhibition, the Phantom Hands x Geoffrey Bawa Collection received international recognition at Salone del Mobile (Milan Design Week), and at AD Design shows in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Ways of Knowing
Ways of Knowing opened at the Bawa Space in July 2025. Using the Lunuganga garden as its lens, the exhibition examines how we know what we know through multi-sensory installations, bringing together virtual reality, film, textiles, seeds, maps, and oral traditions to encourage engagement through touch, sound, movement, and play. The exhibition features objects from the Geoffrey Bawa Collection alongside works by guest artists Clara Kraft Isono, Barbara Sansoni, and Ruvin de Silva.
The Trust offers monthly curatorial tours of the exhibition, as well as varied public programming aimed at attracting a diverse audience. Since opening, Ways of Knowing hosted a series of public programmes, including a workshop by filmmaker and architect Dr Clara Kraft Isono on optical technologies and spatial perception; a talk on how life forms such as mycelium can inform architectural thinking; a botanical knowledge walk through Viharamahadevi Park; a workshop on colour and memory; and a poetry open mic night. This year, the Trust also introduced a new children’s programme, including a youth-oriented tour of the exhibition and a Saturday Story Club with books and hands-on craft activities.
Ways of Knowing is supported by a generous grant from the British Council as well as Kohler India, Initiating Partner for the Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s Exhibition Programme.
Knowledge Sharing from Sri Lanka and Beyond
In 2025, the Trust hosted a series of lectures and conversations with leading voices in architecture and cultural practice, including a curatorial conversation with M+ Museum Director and Geoffrey Bawa Trustee Suhanya Raffel; a lecture by Professor Jin Qiuye on garden-like spatial qualities in architecture; the 22nd Annual Geoffrey Bawa Memorial Lecture and workshop by Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena on preservation and contemporary practice; and a Thai Architecture Programme, presented in collaboration with the Royal Thai Embassy, featuring Rachaporn Choochuey, Kulapat Yantrasast, and Dr Pirasri Povatong. The year concluded with Material and Memory, a talk by Pamudu Tennakoon reflecting on Colombo’s colonial architecture and material memory.
Collections, Conservation, and Archives
In 2025, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust commenced a Paper Conservation Programme with conservator Udaya Hewawasam, focusing on the preservation of paper-based materials in the collection and archival records, alongside plans to establish a dedicated conservation lab. Conservation work was also completed on the Laki Senanayake mural at Lunuganga, with Ajith Jayasundara and his team undertaking structural repairs to the verandah walls and roof to protect the artwork. In parallel, the Trust’s archives were relocated and consolidated at the Bawa Space, where specialised storage has been developed for textiles, photographs, drawings, and paintings, and a comprehensive cataloguing and digitisation process is now underway.
Paper Conservation Programme
The Geoffrey Bawa Trust Paper Conservation Programme commenced in 2025 with assistance from freelance conservator and restoration expert Udaya Hewawasam. The work focuses on the preservation of paper-based materials in the collection as well as records kept in the Geoffrey Bawa Trust archives. A dedicated conservation lab is scheduled to be developed in 2026.
Laki Senanayake mural restoration
Restoration of the Laki Senanayake mural at Lunuganga was completed over a three-month period by experienced conservator Ajith Jayasundara and his team. This included structural conservation on the walls and roof of the verandah where the mural is located to protect the work.
Archives and Knowledge Sharing
After an extensive re-location and consolidation process, the Geoffrey Bawa archives are now located solely at the Bawa Space, with specialised storage for the different archival materials, including textiles, photos, drawings, paintings. These are being fully catalogued, with a focus on digitizing archival photographs.
As part of the Ways of Knowing exhibition, pre-arranged archival visits are available for university students wishing to see drawings of Lunuganga. The archives are expected to be open through email via the Trust website in 2026.
Ecology, Research, and Networks
Hog Deer Project Expansion
The Hog Deer project on Honduwa Island continued to grow in partnership with the Department of Wildlife Conservation, with the island now home to 32 hog deer. In 2025, the Lunuganga Trust signed an MoU with the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka to support ecological restoration, invasive species removal, and biodiversity protection, informed by research from the Universities of Peradeniya and Sri Jayewardenapura and supported by grants from the Lanka Environment Fund and Deutsche Bank.
Global Working Group on Tropical Gardens
In 2025, the Lunuganga Trust helped establish the Global Working Group on Tropical Gardens under the International National Trusts Organisation, creating a platform for shared learning, exchange, and best practices among tropical gardens across Barbados, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Thailand, and Zimbabwe.
Intersectional Ecology Talk Series
The Lunuganga Trust launched the Intersectional Ecology Talk Series, extending Geoffrey Bawa’s commitment to multidisciplinary environmental dialogue. The Trust hosted two talks in 2025: a discussion on urban planning and wildlife management with environmentalist Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, and indigenous knowledge and regenerative ecology with botanist and ecological restoration expert Dr. Thilanka Gunaratne. The Intersectional Ecology Talk Series will continue in 2026.
In 2025, the Hog Deer Project on Honduwa Island continued to expand in partnership with the Department of Wildlife Conservation, with the island now home to 32 hog deer. The Lunuganga Trust also signed an MoU with the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka to support ecological restoration, invasive species removal, and biodiversity protection, informed by research from the Universities of Peradeniya and Sri Jayewardenapura and supported by grants from the Lanka Environment Fund and Deutsche Bank. During the year, the Trust helped establish the Global Working Group on Tropical Gardens under the International National Trusts Organisation, connecting tropical gardens across Barbados, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. The Trust also launched the Intersectional Ecology Talk Series, hosting discussions on urban planning and wildlife management with Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne and on indigenous knowledge and regenerative ecology with Dr Thilanka Gunaratne, with the series continuing in 2026.
The Geoffrey Bawa Space and Design Stores
Growing into the Bawa Space
December marked one year since the Trust moved into the Bawa Space in Colombo 07, bringing together its curatorial and administrative offices, archives, library, design store, and public gallery. The expanded space has enabled greater public engagement through exhibitions and events, increasing the Trust’s visibility and reaching new audiences. The Trust continues to improve accessibility at the Bawa Space, addressing physical, visual, auditory, and sensory barriers through step-free access, inclusive exhibition design, audio guides, pre-visit information, sensory resources, and a dedicated quiet space, with this work ongoing.
Design Store Openings
The Bawa Design Stores launched in late 2025 at the Bawa Space, Lunuganga, and Number 11, offering a curated range of Bawa-inspired products developed in collaboration with Sri Lankan small and medium-sized enterprises. All items are designed and made in Sri Lanka through ethical partnerships that support local craftsmanship.
The opening of the Bawa Space store was marked by an embroidery workshop led by visual storyteller and illustrator Shenuka Corea, inviting participants to personalise limited-edition Lunuganga map t-shirts.
A new chapter for our curatorial team
Chief Curator Shayari de Silva will be stepping down from her role in 2026, following the opening of the exhibition Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses which the Geoffrey Bawa Trust is producing in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum in Germany and M+ in Hong Kong. Shayari joined the Trust in 2018 as its first formal curatorial employee and steered the establishment of its year-round public programmes along with enabling the study and cataloguing of its archives and collections, setting up the curatorial department and team, and the move to the Geoffrey Bawa Space on Horton Place.
“It has been an immense privilege to work with the Trust’s team and collections over the last eight years, and I’m proud to leave knowing that the Trust is in such a strong position with excellent leadership which will take our work further forward.”
The Trust welcomes Thilini Perera as the new Director for Curatorial Affairs. Thilini brings over five years of experience at the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, where she has led design and communications, alongside a career of more than 15 years in the field. Since joining the Trust in 2019, she has managed and delivered its visual identity, strategic communications, and a wide range of online and offline outputs, while contributing to major exhibitions and publications. She has also supported institutional development by strengthening organisational systems and has expanded the Trust’s curatorial scope through projects such as The Order of Nature, its first queer-focused installation within the To Lunuganga programme.
The Trust also appoints Aneesha Mustachi as Senior Curator A trained architect, Aneesha has been with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust since 2021 and brings extensive curatorial and archival expertise to the role. She leads several key projects at the Trust, including curating A Light through Time, the Trust’s first exhibition at Number 11, and representing the Trust at the ICAM 22 sessions in Hong Kong. She is currently working on a forthcoming exhibition and publication on the Ena de Silva House, and supporting Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses at the Vitra Design Museum.
In early 2025, the Trust appointed Soham Kacker to the newly established role of Curator of Living Collections. He joined the Trust following the completion of his Master’s in Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Oxford, and brings extensive experience in horticulture, ecology, and landscape management, having worked in botanical gardens in India and the UK. Based at Lunuganga, he oversees the maintenance and restoration of the garden, and leads the Trust’s ecological and environmental programmes.
Looking to 2026
Looking ahead, the Bawa Space will continue its programme of rotating exhibitions and public events, with Ways of Knowing closing in late March 2026 and a new exhibition opening in May. The Trust is preparing to launch the Geoffrey Bawa Award in early 2026, with an expanded scope currently in development and a formal announcement to follow. In 2026, the Trust will collaborate with the Vitra Design Museum and M+ Hong Kong on Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses, the first major retrospective of Bawa’s work, presenting an extensive body of drawings, models, furniture, photographs, and films.