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21/05/2026

Radhika Coomaraswamy & Azara Jaleel conversed on Art during Crisis at the Second Edition of ARTRA Art Experience, Collector Series together with Altair, revolving around Coomaraswamy’s work with social scientists and artists on research & collaborations, expanding her relations with art veterans Barbara Sansoni, Ena de Silva, Chandragupta Thenuwara, T. Sanathanan in discussing the importance of artists and their work in reflecting our nation’s political landscape, alongside her patronage and that of her family in contributing to art and cultural institutions.

Radhika Coomaraswamy is former Under Secretary General and The Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict & Chairperson of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission, Art Patron and Collector.

Read ‘Of Performance and Precision’ in conversation with Radhika Coomaraswamy on https://www.artra.lk/architecture-of-anjalendran-edition-of-performance-and-precision/ . Call + 94 76 632 4433 for your copy of ARTRA Magazine’s Architecture of Anjalendran Edition 62 (2022).

We at ARTRA are delighted to have the support of Altair () in strengthening our vision to broaden conversation between art stakeholders and strengthening our platform’s potency through strategic partnerships.

19/05/2026

Recap of the debut edition of ARTRA Art Experience, Collector Series together with Altair took place on Sat, Mar 7 over a conversation with Sharya Scharenguivel, Art Patron & Collector reflecting upon her family’s long history of art patronage & collecting practice. To find out more about the discussion, read ‘Art Collecting & Custodianship’ on https://www.artra.lk/art-collecting-custodianship/.

Read ‘Remembering Nalini Jayasuriya’ in conversation with Prof. Sharya Scharenguivel and Suhada Gamlath on https://www.artra.lk/women-and-modernism-edition-remembering-nalini-jayasuriya/ on ARTRA Magazine’s Women and Modernism Edition. Call + 94 76 632 4433 for your copy.

We at ARTRA are delighted to have the support of Altair () in strengthening our vision to broaden conversation between art stakeholders and strengthening our platform’s potency through strategic partnerships.

17/05/2026

Irushi Tennekoon ( ) ARTRA’s Emerging Artist | Best of 2020 showcased her work at Venice Biennale from May 9 to November 22, 2026 and Thailand Biennale from November 2025 to April 30, 2026.

At the Venice Biennale, an excerpt of the film ‘Is this an architectural documentary?’ was showcased at the Qatar Pavilion. It was part of a show titled “Beyti Beytak - My Home is Your Home”. The exhibition explored how forms of hospitality are embodied in the architecture and urban landscapes of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA).

At the Thailand Biennale, the 88 Acres exhibition which was first shown at MMCA Sri Lanka, travelled to Thailand. The 60 minute film ‘Is this an architectural documentary?’ and an animation puppet and set was screened alongside other research on Minnette De Silva’s Watapuluwa Housing Scheme.

Irushi Tennekoon continues to redefine the boundaries of narrative art and illustration. Her transition from our curated pages to one of the world’s most significant art exhibitions is a milestone for the entire local art community.

Read ‘Crafting Potent Narratives’, the feature on ARTRA Magazine e57 on her process on https://www.artra.lk/crafting-potent-narratives/

Image courtesy | Rizvi Hassan & Irushi Tennekoon

venicebiennale2026 thailandbiennale visualart

08/05/2026

“SILENCED responds to the persistent architecture of erasure, reflecting the volatile socio-political shifts within Sri Lanka from the 1980s to the 2020s. By centering memory, materiality, and marginalized identities, the exhibition illuminates counter-narratives where the act of creation itself becomes a form of resistance against what has been lost to time. Posing the haunting question, “What can be said of what is left?”, these works form the nucleus of a necessary reclamation - making visible the endurance that lingers beneath the surface through quiet, persistent dialogues.”

For artwork inquires contact +9476 632 4433.

30/04/2026

A study in luminosity and structure. The vibrant mustard gold of the silk serves as a canvas for the deep peacock teal, creating a sharp, intentional silhouette against a minimalist backdrop. It is an exploration of how traditional drape can command a contemporary space through pure color theory.

Shop for a range of Rithihi products at Rithihi Pvt Ltd | 19, Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 3. You may also purchase ARTRA Magazine’s Silenced Edition E70 from Rithihi Pvt Ltd, Colombo 03.

28/04/2026

She said,
‎There are good omens: the house-lizard chirps,
and my dark-rimmed left eyelid flickers.
My lover is gone,
but I know he will come (yes, I know–
money must be earned, ascetics must be fed,
but most of all, I know that
we will live our life in love).
Listen to what he said.

He said the heath was so hot,
you could not tread it
but he said the he- elephant
saves the last puddle of water,
though sullied by its young,
for its mate.
He said the sight would pain the eyes–
leafless trees, dry branches,
and no mark of pleasantness.
But there the he- dove would fan
with its soft wings, to console its
tired young loving mate.
He said the hot sun would scorch
all the bamboos on the hills,
affording no protection for those who would cross.
He also said the stag would give
its own shade, there being no other,
for his suffering mate.

Virtuous, from the trial of this forest,
he will not allow my beauty to fade;
I am certain he will come soon.

(Paalai paadiya Perungadungo, Kalittokai 11, Paalai)

For your piece of Kanchipuram Silk, visit Alfred House Gardens

26/04/2026

A study in crimson and heritage. Moving beyond the primary, this collection explores the depth of garnet and burnished gold, set against the backdrop of contemporary expression.

Shop for a range of Rithihi products at Rithihi Pvt Ltd | 19, Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 3. You may also purchase ARTRA Magazine’s Silenced Edition E70 from Rithihi Pvt Ltd, Colombo 03.

21/04/2026

Glimpses from the screening of ‘A Lost White Tribe’ by Menika van der Poorten & Meet the Artist session as part of ARTRA Trail, Jan 2026 which contextualized Menika’s works that reclaims the history of the Eurasian community of Sri Lanka, showcased in the midst of SILENCED, group exhibition curated by Azara Jaleel as part of ARTRA Trail 2026.

19/04/2026

’s works are emblematic of urban spaces that evolve in direct response to the social, economic, and physical needs of their inhabitants - emphasizing a reciprocal relationship between the built environment and community life. In Swan Boat Supreme (2021), Menage a Deux (A Household for Two) (2025), Loveblossom (2025), Ratnavibhushana turns his lens toward the city’s bodies of water - namely that of the Beira Lake, situated in the centre of Colombo which was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, that is popular for its aesthetic charms and recreational value to the cityscape. In these photographs, water becomes a visual threshold between the built environment and its quieter, often overlooked undercurrents. The works invite viewers to encounter Colombo not through its constant movement, but through its pauses and spaces where private thought and uncertainty linger beneath the surface. Notably in May 2022, during the Aragalaya protests enraged protesters pushed government supporters into the lake as acts of defiance - symbolically, attesting Beira Lake as a site of resistance, that confronted socio-political conflicts, reflecting the nation’s deep ethnic and economic tensions.

In contrast, Fixed Silence Negative I-VI (2018 - 2025) focuses upon structure. Comprising six small photographs printed on canvas, this body of work centres on the architecture of the Galle Fort. The Fort’s walls, corridors, and facades are presented not as static monuments, but as living archives shaped by centuries of colonial encounter, trade, resistance, and adaptation.

Featured as part of ‘Silenced’
Group exhibition curated by Azara Jaleel
Supported by .wendt &

For art queries call +94 (76) 632 4433

13/04/2026

Glimpses from the Artist Walks in Colombo & Galle as part of ARTRA Trail, January 2026 while work towards the second edition in a couple of months

08/04/2026

Malki Jayakody, ARTRA’s Emerging Artist | Best of 2023, offers a critical examination of colourism by tracing its origins to colonial ideology. Centering the Sri Lankan landscape as a historical site of colonization, Jayakody challenges the constructed notion of the island as a ‘paradise’ and instead reframes it as a site of systemic erasure. By centering the lush paddy fields of her hometown Asgirya, her work interrogates how colonial perceptions of land, labour, and skin continue to shape our beauty ideals and social hierarchies. Through hand-stitched embroidery, acrylics, and watercolour, her mixed-media compositions are tactile meditations on the unseen wounds that continue to inform our societal standards of beauty, both in our environment and among ourselves.

Featured as part of ‘Silenced’
Group exhibition curated by Azara Jaleel
Supported by .wendt &

For art queries call +94 (76) 632 4433

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