Embracing all forms of art
The gates open into a spacious garden, which leads to an elegant space, that fits at No 49 Skelton road, Colombo 5. It was a concept which initially took shape at the back of Sanchitha Wickremesooriya’s mind after many changes, experiences, travels, conversations and performances. And finally on Friday (Sept. 9), Sooriya Village will open its doors.
The village is essentially a hub for musicians in South Asia, and Sanchitha hopes that it will act as a gateway between the Western World and South Asia. “I want it to facilitate collaborations between artistes of various forms of arts, to create something new and push the boundaries of art in the nation. Artistes at the end of the day are all creative minds and banding them together can only help their cause,” he tells us.
Sanchitha comes from a family that founded and ran the Sooriya Label, the pioneer in producing popular music in Sri Lanka during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Today, the label once again enters the industry,bringing together artists of all disciplines under one roof to work together.
Sooriya Village provides them with the facilities needed to create these collaborative efforts and intends to expose them to various art forms from around the world. The facility is equipped with a Recording Studio, two Rehearsal Suits for the performance arts (one completed and the other still under construction), a Practice Space for Visual Arts, a library dedicated to the arts, a technology/lecture/ media room, a restaurant guided by renowned chef “Koluu”, which could host up to 100 people, a co shared store between the “Sooriya” Label and “The Yamaha Music Centre”, a private suite, dormitory facilities (under construction) and gig space.
Being a musician himself, Sanchitha’s journey began at the age of four under the guidance of Mary Anne David for vocals. He followed up with teachers such as Mithrani Smith and Priyani Fernando for piano, and Dian Fernando for both violin and piano thereafter.
“My family, from a young age had immersed me in music and thus my