Kala Pola goes online
Raft by Charita Lay
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Colombo’s most anticipated open air art fair, Kala Pola, is going ahead, not in its familiar space of the shady sidewalks of Greenpath (Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha) but online.
The annual art fair that provides a much needed canvas for both new and established artists went online for the first time in its 28-year history on srilankanartgallery.com/kalapola on February 21 and will continue until March 21. By making available over 4,000 works of visual arts by over 200 artists, the George Keyt Foundation and John Keells Group stay committed to their mission to develop sustainable livelihoods for Sri Lankan artists through providing networking opportunities and knowledge sharing for them while allowing the public to appreciate the abundance of local talent.
With health guidelines that need to be adhered to due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, the organisers sought to mitigate health and safety concerns for in recent years Kala Pola has drawn upwards of 30,000 people for the one-day event.
The online edition of Kala Pola is hosted within www.srilankanartgallery.com, a platform previously developed by John Keells Foundation (the CSR entity of the John Keells Group) to create a space for Sri Lankan artists to display their work on a digital platform throughout the year alongside the usual Kala Pola. By going virtual, the market not only opened for local inquiries but to international buyers as well.
Kumbuk tree by Dillai Joseph
“It’s all thanks to John Keells that we are having the Kala Pola this year as they suggested that instead of having it physically that we should go virtual. They put everything together; it is not perfect but it is still changing and being improved constantly,” says Michael Anthonisz of the George Keyt Foundation adding that the global response for Kala Pola has been remarkable.
A well known artist himself, Mr. Anthonisz also has put some of his earlier works on the platform not with the intention of selling but just to showcase his work.
Dillai Joseph, a first-time participant of Kala Pola also feels the need to be present at Kala Pola so people can have a look at her paintings. “I took part this year purely because it opened up the opportunity for me, to access people who are unable be physically present at the fair and I found it an easy experience,” she says talking about uploading her environment themed work onto the virtual platform.
A veteran of Kala Pola, Charita Lay has been participating since its inception. “I have lovely memories of the first Kala Pola where we got a lot of publicity from art lovers and collecters. This year although it is different I am happy to be able to take part,” she says adding that already she has sold some of her work.
Check out Kala Pola 2021 on srilankanartgallery.com/kalapola till March 21!