Sunday Times 2
“Making History”: Colomboscope arts festival returns
View(s):Colomboscope is back for its second year with new faces and a new theme; “Making History”. Held from January 30 to February 3 Colombo’s much eagerly awaited arts festival will captivate its audiences with a celebration of music, dance, literature, theatre and film with a new addition this year; architecture. “Our architecture reflects our history and who we are” explained festival curator Radhika 
Hettiarachchi. With a selection of unique locations, not usual for artistic gatherings such as the Rio Cinema in Slave Island and Modera’s the Whist Bungalow and its gardens; Colombo’s art lovers are invited to a three day truant as around iconic locations including Pettah and Fort; echoing the atmosphere of Sri Lanka at the turn of the century.
Having enjoyed a successful first year with over 3000 visitors, Bjorn Ketels, Director of the Goethe Institute is looking forward to an even bigger turnout this year. “Organising this has been an intense experience” he commented, describing the detail put into finding locations that would fit into the theme of this year’s festival. With the goal of combining art forms and offering a platform for both local and international artists to be discovered Colomboscope will be graced by several international artists from Egypt, the United Kingdom, Germany and India.
This year’s festival will kick start with fresh local talent in the form of dancer; Venuri Perera who will be exploring folk dance and music. Other local performers include the Chamber Music Society of Colombo, singer Ajith Kumarasiri and Musicmatters to name a few. Await a viewing of Mind Adventures Theatre Company’s “Paraya” and a performance by the Gob Squad. Among the writers showcased will be acclaimed Sri Lankan novelist Shyam Selvadurai and international award winning writers Abbas Khider , Joanna Kavenna and Adam Foulds.
Colomboscope is sponsored by Standard Chartered in partnership with the Goethe Institute, the British Council Festival with support from Alliance Francaise de Kotte. The festival programme consists of ticketed and free events with concessions / discounts planned for students. Tickets are available from Goethe institute and the British Council during open hours and at the events venues. Further details on the festival are available at www.colomboscope.org and www.facebook.com/colomboscope