Land, Conflict, and Art with the MMCA Sri Lanka

Since December 2023, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (MMCA Sri Lanka) has been working on its ‘Arts 4 ADR’ project in partnership with Supporting Effective Dispute Resolution (SEDR Sri Lanka). It is a 12-month endeavour that aims to increase awareness and understanding of community-based Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms and facilitate dialogue about the root causes of community-based conflict, disputes, and grievances in Sri Lanka through art.

The project’s focus lies on the Northern, Eastern, and Uva provinces of the island. As a significant part of these efforts, the MMCA Sri Lanka has commissioned artists Anomaa Rajakaruna, Jasmine Nilani Joseph, and Hanusha Somasundram to develop three artworks with contexts of communal conflict in Vavuniya, Mannar, Ampara, Trincomalee, Badulla, and Monaragala.

Sandev Handy, Senior Curator at the MMCA Sri Lanka said that, “Art may not necessarily be able to change the world, but it can act as a catalyst for moments of reflections, that may in turn provide us with some pause.” He added, “Our hope is that communities can begin new conversations instigated by artwork, that open up possibilities for new understandings of the ‘other’.”

In the chosen provinces in particular, land issues continue to hinder reconciliation efforts as a result of a combination of historical, political, ethnic, and socio-economic factors. The MMCA Sri Lanka hopes to pilot, test, and implement artwork-centred community dialogues that address land-based issues of exclusion and inequality.

The MMCA Sri Lanka is also launching the Dialogue and Civic Engagement Fellowship Programme as part of ‘Arts 4 ADR’, where Bavaneedha Loganathan, Chanthuru Thiveegan, Kalyani Suntharam, and Thamilini Siththiravadivel have joined the programme as cultural practitioners in the Northern, Eastern, and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka. Fueled by their interest in how art can instigate civic dialogue and foster alternate dispute resolution, the four Fellows will be given training in ADR, art programming, community engagement, and public pedagogical approaches as part of the Fellowship programme.

Led by the MMCA Sri Lanka and funded by SEDR Sri Lanka, ‘Arts 4 ADR’ aims to examine art’s potential to generate dialogue, shape narratives, provoke reflection, foster unity and offer alternative pathways to reconciliation. SEDR Sri Lanka is funded by the European Union and is one element of the European Union’s wider Strengthening Transformation, Reconciliation and Inclusive Democratic Engagement (STRIDE) programme in Sri Lanka, jointly implemented by the British Council, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank.

The MMCA Sri Lanka is an education-led initiative that aims to establish a public museum dedicated to the display, research, collection, and conservation of modern and contemporary art for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public, schools, and tourists. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm (except on Poya days and public holidays) on the ground floor of Crescat Boulevard, Colombo 3, and the entrance to the museum and all its public programmes is free. Information about the museum and its exhibitions and public programmes can be found via their website www.mmca-srilanka.org, or on Facebook at facebook.com/mmcasrilanka and Instagram at instagram.com/mmcasrilanka

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