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Sri Lanka

Tandem Residencies

Residenzen in ländlichen Regionen © Colomboscope

This initiative focuses on artistic research, site-responsive production and durational approaches within contemporary cultural practice through month-long residencies for artistic producers hosted in two different coastal and rural regions of Sri Lanka. 

The invited artists worked closely with community mediators and local practitioners exploring aspects of social memory, oral histories, diasporic narratives, informal pedagogy, sonic archives and traditional arts.

The Tandem Residencies were supported by the European Houses of Culture grant as well as regional funds of the Goethe-Institut.

 
 

Tandem Residency #1

With OMER WASIM UND THISATH THORADENIYA 

Pakistani artist Omer Wasim and Sri Lankan artist Thisath Thoradeniya spent two weeks occupied by site visits and research trips across the island before they made it to their residency location at the South coast. 

  • Straight from his mandatory two weeks quarantine on the southern coast, Omer visited Lunaganga and Bevis Bawa’s Brief garden. ©Colomboscope

  • Omer Wasim met with landscape architect Arabinda Fernando during his research in Colombo in his private garden. ©Colomboscope

  • Omer Wasim research in Colombo during his tandem residency in Sri Lanka ©Colomboscope

  • Omer Wasim research in Colombo during his tandem residency in Sri Lanka ©Colomboscope

  • Omer Wasim in conversation with visual artist Thamotharampillai Sanathan.an ©Colomboscope

  • Open House, Hiriketiya ©Colomboscope

  • Open House, Hiriketiya ©Colomboscope

  • Omer Wasim's work displayed at the Open House in Hiriketiya. ©Colomboscope

  • Details of Thisath Thoradeniya's work. ©Colomboscope

 
The tandem residency concluded with an Open House where visitors were invited to engage with the artworks that were created during the residency and start a dialogue with the artists. The Open House with Omer Wasim and Thisath Thoradeniya was realized following all relevant Covid-19 safety mesaures and therefore took place in a smaller scale than originally planed.
 
 

Tandem Residency #2

With Aziz Hazara und Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah

For the second residency in the North, Belgium-based Afghani Aziz Hazara together with his tandem residency partner Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah, further developed their projects for Colomboscope 2021 'Language is Migrant'. Working closely with cultural organizer and founder of Kälam, our local partner Kirutharshan Nicholas, Aziz and Rupaneethan have been visiting sites around the coast and residing residing in the historical village of Vaddukoddai.
  • During his stay in Colombo Aziz Hazara visited Saskia Fernando Gallery to view Abdul Halik Azeez' exhibition 'day dreamer you are'. ©Colomboscope

  • Aziz Hazara and Anne Anne Vaugier Chatterjee (EU Delegation to Sri Lanka) ©Colomboscope

  • Aziz Hazara and Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah in Jaffna ©Colomboscope

  • Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah, research in Jaffna. ©Colomboscope

  • Aziz Hazara, research in Jaffna. ©Colomboscope

  • Detail of Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah's project for Colomboscope 2021. ©Colomboscope

The original plan was to have each residency conclude with an ‘Open Studio’ with accompanying elements such as workshops, live acts, networking dialogues and screenings as part of contextualizing cultural processes for local audience groups and extending the impact generated by the Colomboscope festival. Due to the pandemic situation it was not possible to realize the Open Studio for the second Tandem Residency with Aziz Hazara and Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah as yet. 
 


 
 
 

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