Dehiattakandiya

Exhibition of Photography at Nadee Arts Centre

By ci ⋅ November 15, 2008 ⋅ ⋅ Post a comment

Workshop participant lighting oil lamp

 On 13^th November 2008, Nadee Art center in Dehiattakandiya opened to the public an exhibition of selected photos taken by its young student members during the photography workshops organized by the Colombo Institute since February 2008. The exhibition is the culmination of the series of workshops and activities where these youth were trained everything from framing images to reading and interpreting images.  The 20 color images selected for the show essentially depict the backgrounds and circumstances of the workshop participants, all of whom are students who offer art as a subject for the GCE Advanced Level examination. One student, Thakshila who addressed the gathering on behalf of the group said the exhibition as well as the refurbishment of the gallery was a “dream that had come true which was still difficult to envisage.” She as well as others who spoke suggested that such efforts should continue in the future. A large number of invitees consisting of members of Colombo Institute, Theertha International Artists Association from Colombo and Gaveshi Resource Centre in Aludeniya as well as teachers and young students from neighborhood schools and regional education officials attended the opening.    

A group of students at the exhibition

In preparation for the exhibition, Colombo Institute helped refurbish the Nadee gallery. All non specialized labor was generated from within the group and the interior and exterior painting of the walls, cleaning the exterior garden and installation of a new lighting system was undertaken by the students themselves.  Paid services were procured for the wiring for new lights.  The Institute funded the purchase of gallery lights and wiring and installation equipment from Colombo as well as all the paint, related amnesties, printing of invitation cards for the exhibition and catering for the opening event. In addition, the frames used for the occasion were manufactured locally with provision to be re-used. As such, 23 mahogany frames with a glass front were made with a back door that can be opened for the insertion of photos or paintings.  Both the refurbished gallery and frames can now be re-used by the Nadee Center as well as by other groups in the area. The expectation of the Colombo Institute was that a reasonably well equipped gallery be made available for the use of the youth in the area that was not restricted by the kind of red tape usually associated with state or more formal setups of this nature.