Art to stamp its mark at the grand old dame in Fort
Canvas of contrasts: Digitalised contemporary art will be showcased at the old GPO building
Cinnamon Colomboscope has a reputation for hosting its exhibitions in iconic buildings and unique spaces. Last year, the festival exhibition was held in the abandoned Rio Hotel. This year’s venue, is the grand old General Post Office (GPO) on Janadhipathi Mawatha, Fort constructed in the 1890s which will be transformed into an exhibition space, and also host talks on digital art, technology, data privacy and workshops which are all part of the festival.
To be held from August 25 to September 1 Cinnamon Colomboscope has as its theme ‘Testing Grounds: Arts and Digital Cultures in South Asia and Europe’ focusing on contemporary art and how digital technologies impact and shape the perception and conception of the world.
Over 50 Sri Lankan and international artists and speakers will contribute to this year’s programme including an exhibition, film screenings, audio-visual performances, an immersive theatre performance and an online exhibition.
‘Under the Cloud’, ‘Kaleidoscopia’, ‘Deep Sensing’ are three sub-themes under ‘Testing Grounds’ and will be the focus of the thematic conversations. The discussions will showcase different perspectives of how society, and contemporary art, is responding to the shift to digital technology in Sri Lanka, the South Asian region and Europe.
(De)Generative Processes II on August 28 at 7 p.m. presented by DJ and electronic music producer, Asvajit Boyle, and technologist and entertainment designer, Lalindra Amarasekara will transform the domed roof of the Colombo Planetarium into a digital canvas for an immersive live performance of light, sound and movement.
An immersive theatre experience will be portrayed through Close to the Bone, a collaboration between ArunWelandawe-Prematilleke and Isuru Kumarasinghe. Participants should have a phone to log in at the start of the show to be allowed access into each of the character’s heads; enter their minds, hear their thoughts, memories and regrets.
Two workshops will introduce participants to the making of electronic and digital art. ‘Making Your Own Net Art by Using User-Generated Content’ – a hands-on workshop on media hacking, conducted by Swiss artist, Marc Lee, and ‘Video In – Video Out’ designed to give participants an insight into the world of visual jockeying, conducted by Dhanya Pilo aka DJ VECOY, a filmmaker and visual artist from Mumbai, India.
Four workshops will take place at the old GPO. ‘WTF (What the Facebook)?’ on Friday, August 26 from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m. allows participants to explore tactics for minimising their digital trace when using popular online services; ‘Mastering Your Mobile’ on Sunday, August 28 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. introduces participants to apps, browsers and operating systems they can use securely; ‘Disrupting Your Digital Shadow’ on Monday, August 29 from 5 to 6 p.m. invites participants to experiment with tools to create, modify or minimise our ‘digital shadow’; and ‘De-Googlize Your Life’ on Wednesday, August 31, from 5 to 6 p.m. takes participants through a mini tour of the Google empire and teaches them how to ‘diversify’ the services they use.
Registration for the workshops is through a free online registration portal on www.cinnamoncolomboscope.com where there is also a detailed programme and more information on the festival. Organised by EUNIC Sri Lanka, the festival is presented by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts.