After Galle Lit Fest, Matara to come alive with Arts Festival
Matara Festival for the Arts (MFA), a celebration of Contemporary Art and Music from Sri Lanka and beyond, will take place on the Independence weekend, February 2- 4, 2024, hot on the heels of the Galle Literary Festival.
The idea is to provide tourists and Lankans alike with further reason to spend the start of the year in the south coast.
The primary programme is curated by artist and archaeologist Prof. Jagath Weerasinghe (Art Programme Curator & Festival Co-Founder), and musician and educator Dr. Sumudi Suraweera of
Music Matters who will be the Music Programme Curator.
The festival will be centred on the pillars of #CultureCommunityCollaboration presented in focused and intersectional modes. A project which started October 14 - ‘Art for Community and Collaboration’ sees leading artists and performance artists mentoring aspiring ones on contemporary art as they work towards producing a collaborative artwork to be presented at the festival.
Other core values of the programme include diversity as a strength, economic inclusivity, and environmental sustainability. Along these lines, innovation catalyst Randhula de Silva will lead a workshop and conversations component, while the Good Market will be a capacity-building partner in setting up a community market in collaboration with the Matara District Secretariat and other partners.
The festival is co-founded by Jayanthi Samaraweera Gunewardena and Chanchala Gunewardena, who carry on the work of their family member the late Mangala Samaraweera via the Freedom Hub in Matara, and Prof. Weerasinghe who was a collaborator of Samaraweera’s in efforts of art for peace building.
The festival will also work with business owners in Matara who are leading their own ‘Safe & Green’ city clean-up initiative in the run-up to the festival.
John Keells Foundation (JKF), a patron sponsor provides funding support for the festival’s Art component. Geraldine Coates and Robert McDowell of arts venue Summerhall in Edinburgh, Scotland, Simon Bell, founder of Amba Estate and impact investment advisor, and Malaka Talwatte, Chairman of the George Keyt Foundation are festival advisors.