On a creative path with a little help from Art linK
Art linK supports creative blood. Last week, at the Kadirgamar Institute, grants were awarded to 12 selected applicants to create new work that the organisers hoped, “will critically engage artists as well as audiences to further social integration and the empathic understanding of cultural diversity.” In a phrase, they want better art to serve humans better. Art linK believes that the 12 grantees will generate powerful art that brings benefits to the public and artists alike.
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The grants work with forms of art which include film, music, theatre- what have you. The diverse community it supports includes artists, academics, writers and education officers.
Following the advertisements placed in newspapers in September 2014, 126 proposals came in.
The twelve grantees and the work they are to do are as follows:
Musicmatters, led by Sumudi Suraweera, is to create a platform to empower young local artists in Batticaloa.
Sivamohan Sumathy will produce a film for Villimbuhal on artists so far not studied by anyone, titled Music of the Minorities.
Kandy Kathak Kendra led by Veronika Dassanayaka will analyse up-country, low-country and Sabaragamuwa dance forms and will deliver dance performances in Jaffna, Colombo and Trincomalee.
M. I. Jaffir, writer, poet and film maker, together with Sirahununi Production House will initiate a dialogue by highlighting monuments.
Sudath Mahadivulwewa , with X 10 Productions, will pre-produce Red Milk: A Slaughtered Lullaby from the Indian Ocean, a film on the beheading of Rizana Nafeek.
Tamil language journalist A. Jathindra will head the Social Development and Research Organisation’s (SDRO) exploration of post-war Tamil literature and also a dialogue for alternative viewpoints.
Kalasuri Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s Trikone will do a few documentaries on problems faced by minority groups.
The Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation (CPBR), led by Prof. Jayantha Seneviratne and Dilshani Jayaweera, plan to equip youth with knowledge, skills and opportunities to engage in inter-community dialogue using ‘creative expressions’ of photography.
Malaka Devapriya whose films won awards at international film festivals will create radio-drama for the Contemporary Art Commune that addresses issues on gender, abortion, commodity fetishism and other socially important issues.
Jayathilaka Bandara will head NAFSO’s project which aims to teach schoolchildren the need to respect diversity and culture through music, literature and films.
Chandraguptha Thenuwara, working for his Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts, will develop an alternative syllabus on fine art that will be used to address the curriculum in schools through the National Institute of Education.
Delon Weerasinghe will develop a short film through a workshop process for Dreamforge.
Art linK is a programme implemented by Facilitating Initiatives for Social Cohesion and Transformation (GIZ-FLICT) – a bilateral cooperation between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government and Democratic Governance.