Looking at the Wendt’s past, present and future
The Lionel Wendt Art Centre has been the heart of Colombo’s theatre scene for seven decades – its unpretentious façade a familiar sight for the art lover, its theatre a receptacle of memories of countless evenings and standing ovations, and many a prodigious artist hosting their memorable debut in the lovely gallery.
It goes back to the days when Colombo’s spacious roads and avenues were shaded by flamboyant and there was little traffic and bungalows had sprawling tropical gardens.
As the KALA festival unfolds with Lionel Wendt the artiste as its pivot, it’s time to look to the Wendt past, present and future – the saga of a prima donna sans airs and graces.
Lionel Wendt the man, the cultural Titan of his time, was a pianist, critic and an avant garde photographer.
Initiator of the ’43 Group, he remains influential to this day in many a form of art, note Ranil Pieris, Chairman of the Lionel Wendt Memorial Fund and Ranil de Silva, trustee.
Alborada his home was converted into the Lionel Wendt Art Centre in 1953, Wendt having died in 1944 at the age of 44.
The most prized possession of the Lionel Wendt Art Centre today is its archives. It is a treasure trove of Wendt’s photographs and also his collection of art, books and digitized articles. While in the past it was not accessible to outsiders, the Trust is now aiming to make it available to researchers. The plan is to have an archival environment that will help preserve the delicate material against humidity and fungal growth etc.
“We are trying to democratize the archives by exposing it on a selected basis,” says Pieris.
Adds de Silva, “The value of it will grow when it is seen wider, appreciated wider…
“Today every museum wants to own a Lionel Wendt, whether it is the Tate Museum of Modern Art or the Louvre, prices ranging from US Dollars 5,000 to 25,000 and getting higher and higher.”
The idea of KALA was broached first by de Silva who was inspired by the Summer Show at the Royal Academy in London.
“This whole art centre had never been used as a single space before and that was the initial idea.”
Saskia Fernando of the eponymous gallery was asked to come on board. With her exposure to arts festivals around the world she got together a network of philanthropists, interested parties and supporters for art. Sandhini Poddar, curator of the Guggenheim Museum, guided them.
The exhibition Pivot Glide Echo was curated by Sandhini and Mariam Begum. Four themes of Wendt’s oeuvre – technique, landscapes, human body, etc. - were isolated. Each gallery focuses on how his work inspired artists.
Says de Silva, “This is probably the first time our masters of the ’43 Group as well as contemporary art are under one roof where you see the dynamic expression from George Keyt to modern day artists.”
However, says de Silva, sadly, “the corporate community in Sri Lanka does not support the arts” - drawing much less interest than subjects like sports.
So what is the future like for the Wendt? Pieris says the vision of the new board of trustees is to ‘bring in a little more youthful vigour’ to the centre. “We are trying to turn this not just into a place where you come for a show or an exhibition” but a hangout to talk art, enjoy a coffee or even pre-prandial glass of something.
“We are also looking into having a Black Box Theatre and making the Wendt a place where artists can generate ideas and more spaces and even a restaurant.” The new Barista coffee shop within the centre was installed for KALA, but hopefully it is there to stay.
Exciting plans indeed but the funds pose a problem. While there are so many costs especially for the theatre – ‘hidden’ costs from sound and lighting to fly bars – the Wendt is ambitious to ‘rather than ad hoc put things in places, to do things in a more planned manner,’ says de Silva.
Pieris reminds that while the Wendt is a prestigious venue the prices are highly competitive ‘to maximise the affordability for performance art people’.
De Silva has the last word, “We want the centre to become the centre of the arts.”