Residencies

Geoffrey Bawa Trust Residencies Programme
at the Druvi de Saram House

Residency: The Geoffrey Bawa Trust Residencies Programme is directed towards creative individuals with a disciplinary focus in Writing, Photography, Music, and/or Performance. It offers a self-directed opportunity to live and work at the de Saram house for a period between a minimum of two weeks to a maximum of three months between April and October each year.

Location: We encourage residents to use the location of the de Saram house as a starting point for understanding Geoffrey Bawa’s practice within the context of the city. Embedded within Colombo’s urban fabric, several key buildings—including Bawa’s residence in Colombo, the National Museum, the Sapumal Foundation, and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka—are conveniently positioned in close proximity to the house.

Showcase: Artists in residence will organise an open studio, workshop, talk or performance at the property at the conclusion of their residency. This opportunity allows the artist to present their work and creative process to the broader Colombo community with which they engaged throughout their stay in the city. The Trust will document this showcase for inclusion on its website and social media channels.

De Saram House

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 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. The Trust also undertook the conservation and display of key artworks in the Bawa art collection and the de Saram family art collection as part of the renovation. 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.

  • Radhika’s Room

    This room was designed originally for Druvi and Sharmini’s youngest daughter. It has an ensuite bathroom and features a balcony overlooking the central courtyard and Music Room. The room has access separate from the main house.

  • Sharmini and Druvi’s Room

    This room was originally built as the master bedroom. It has an ensuite bathroom and features a mezzanine level workspace.

  • Mandhira’s Room

    This room was originally built as the couple’s eldest daughter’s bedroom. It has an ensuite bathroom and features a mezzanine level workspace.

  • Annexe

    The annexe, technically part of the old ancestral house on the property, has an ensuite bathroom, study, outdoor sitting area, cooking and laundry facilities with a rooftop terrace that opens up onto the main courtyard and driveway.

General Conditions

Radhika’s Room: USD 700 nett per week
Sharmini and Druvi’s Room: USD 850 nett per week
Mandhira’s Room: USD 1,000 nett per week
Bougainvillea Suite: USD 1,100 nett per week

Residencies are available between April - October each year. The above rates are inclusive of all taxes, valid until 28 February 2025 and help with the operation and maintenance costs of the property. We also offer discounted rates for Sri Lankan residents.

Facilities

All rooms have a desk and are equipped with air conditioning and a private bathroom. The property has the following shared facilities which can be accessed by all residents:

Music Room
2 courtyards
Outdoor living room
Dining/meeting room
Kitchen
WiFi
(Limited) private parking

There will be a cleaning service once a week. Laundry service is available on request for an additional fee. The property is equipped with a kitchen that can be used freely by residents to prepare meals. A fridge is available for storage.

Residents have access to the Bawa Architectural Archive and Research Facility (upon request and by prior appointment–subject to availability of staff), which is also located in Colombo.

Application Process

Artists interested in participating should send by email (info@geoffreybawa.org) a short curriculum, motivation letter (mentioning preferred residency dates), description of the project, and link to a webpage/examples of work. Applications will be evaluated by an advisory committee, taking into consideration artistic quality and motivation of the candidate. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed prior to confirmation of acceptance.

If accepted, artists are recommended to reserve their place as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. The security deposit is 50% and obliges the Trust to keep your spaces reserved and free for the approved period of stay. We will send you an invoice and issue a receipt.

We prefer international transfers for making the deposit. Please don’t forget to confirm the proposed dates as well as any additional details you may find useful. If you need a confirmation letter or acceptance letter, please contact us; we will gladly prepare it and send it back to you.

To avoid problems with immigration, be sure to verify all visa requirements as soon as you accept your residency. Every country is different, so it is best to start all visa processes as soon as you can.

2022 edition

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust and the Embassy of France to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, through the support of the Residency Fabric of Institut Français, are excited to announce the two selected French artists that will inaugurate the first edition of the De Saram House residency. Marin Escade and Pauline Drand will be welcomed in Colombo between May and June 2022. This programme selected candidates to reside in Colombo for a period of two months. The residents are invited to present a partial restitution of their research and production work during the ‘French Spring Festival’ – the Embassy’s flagship cultural event. The festival has presented every year since 2012 a dozen multidisciplinary events (music, literature, visual arts, cinema, virtual reality, debate, fashion, urbanism) between mid-June and mid-July.

Both unclassifiable and accessible, Pauline Drand’s art is driven by a timeless voice and a sharp poetic instinct. Since the release of her first EP in 2015, the Parisian singer-songwriter has been performing both as a soloist (voice, guitar, piano) and as a collective in various constellations, in France and internationally. She is currently working on her next album, whose creation is nourished by encounters with other forms of artistic expression, such as dance and plastic arts.

Pauline Drand Instagram

Born in 1992, Marin Escande is a French composer and musicologist. Educated in Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP), he has composed both instrumental and electroacoustic music. Through various interdisciplinary collaborations, he has developed an original musical language in relation to the environmental soundscape, urbanism and architecture.

Marin Escande Soundcloud