#WEAREFROMHERE: Getting to know Slave Island and its people
Firi’s Slave Island: Stories of people and vanishing places. Pic by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Slave Island is changing. The old buildings have disappeared, paving the way for new apartment complexes, office spaces and roadways.
It was under these circumstances that artist Firi Rahman began collecting stories of the neighbourhood which he grew up in, from oral testimonies, to mapping the alleys and taking photos of disappearing landmarks. The idea was to change the negative perception of it as a dangerous place and also give back to the community.
In June last year he began working on his project #WEAREFROMHERE – an interactive community based art project that captures life stories of the ordinary citizens of Colombo. Its main aim is to acknowledge the existence and the valuable services that the community of Slave Island provides to the city.
As part of World Heritage Day, Firi has been invited to talk about the project and the living heritage of Slave Island by the British Council, and the challenges and importance of preserving the heritage of the area.
“People think the alleys in the vicinity are dangerous. If you look at Google, you don’t see these alleys on the map. But these are very active parts of the city,” he explains, as we watch the world go by from his home in Slave Island.
The idea was to do murals of the locals in the alleys, but Firi also wanted to make it more interactive as well. It wasn’t really about beautifying the city. There was also a message behind it.
As an artist, Firi saw a lack of long term art projects that support a social cause and communities in Sri Lanka. First, it was important to understand the community. As such, he started having relaxed chats with the locals, listening to their anecdotes and stories, and began to map out the changes to the landscape.
He began without a proper budget or any sponsors, using his own money. He bought the paint and started off with one other person. Soon, the artwork became a tool that engaged the neighbours to share their stories.
“I’m not interested in what has already been written about the place, I’m interested in what the neighbourhood knows about their own place. Their roots, their histories and the stories behind it,” he explains.
Back when Firi was a schoolboy, he recalls the stigma that surrounded Slave Island. “If you say ‘Kompannavidiya’, people really put you down.” The discrimination is still rife. But, as he points out, most of the people from the area are professionals – he has got to know several musicians, artists, actors, sportsmen from the vicinity. “Instead of having posters of politicians and celebrating them, why don’t we have permanent murals of our own people?” he asks.
When he first got the idea, Firi didn’t know what to do with it. At the time, the Jaffna University sent him one of their students for a placement. He told him the idea, and they brainstormed and began to collaborate. The student came up with the title #WEAREFROMHERE
The project started off as an art walk simply for educational purposes.
But #WEAREFROMHERE created a curiosity about the neighbourhood. Firi would invite several students to drop by to study it, from AOD graduates to art students from Berlin.
“Before, this was called a drug dealers’ place but now people coming to study it,” he tells us with pride.
Soon, Firi was approached by tourist companies wanting to organize tours along the streets. These offers were politely declined, because this was not the ultimate goal. “I’m very sensitive about it. I don’t want it to be like slum tourism. The community has to get something out of it,” he says.
Today, the walks feature an organized system that includes an interactive card pack that encourages engagement, as well as a hand-drawn map and a token to try the street food. Local vendors have also been included in the walks, as a way to give back to the community.
The project continues to grow, with many new branches like getting more community members involved and collaborations with other artists on the horizon. Income from the walk will go towards generating new projects, such as helping to sponsor the local people with a wishlist, and take donations for educational walks for students. “So we’re getting their stories, and we’re also giving back to them,” he tells us.
At the end of the day Firi is simply creating an archive, because without it there is nothing to show the future generations what Slave Island used to look like. “There were many things that we didn’t think was important, but now they’re gone and we’re worried because we didn’t even bother taking a picture of it.”
Firi’s talk is at the British Council Library on Friday, April 26 at 7p.m.. For more information and to reserve your seat, visit www.britishcouncil.lk or call 0117 521 521. For a sneak peek into the project, visit the #WEAREFROMHERE Instagram and Facebook pages @wearefromhereproject