‘Making History’
The Colombo Art Biennale (CAB) opened its third edition on 31 January 2014. What was initiated in 2009, as a small local event for Sri Lankan artists, has now expanded quite substantially to include artists from the adjoining countries and those further afield. ‘Imagining Peace’ (2009), the theme of the first biennale, was launched at a time when peace was unexpectedly achieved after twenty-six years of civil conflict. The inaugural biennale was followed in 2012 with the explorative theme ‘Becoming’. Co-curator Suresh Jayaram, publicly mused in his catalogue essay on how ‘normal’ Colombo appeared to be, as there were fewer barricades, as well as significant ‘building activity’, which suggests ‘a buoyant economy’. In the event of forward looking nation-building, how does one address post-war anxiety, and how can artists temporarily provide an alternate language to communicate such tension? These were questions raised by the curators then and that still remain unresolved as we attend the 2014 biennale. However, I would have posed the question differently: How does a curator formulate a biennale in a post-war country where the art scene is still nascent and operates in the absence of formal criticism; and where the audience for contemporary art and performance as yet needs to be developed?
Facilitated by a heady mix of Sri Lankan and international curators, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Neil Butler (UK) and Amit Jain Kumar (India) were selected to develop the third biennale theme ‘Making History’. Complimenting this team was Sri Lankan theatre practitioner Ruhanie Perera who curated the live performances and panel discussions. Curators Butler and Thenuwara acknowledged the intrinsic relationship between artists, their work, and the public, interpreting those interests in their joint catalogue essay. Amit Jain