Cinnamon Colomboscope takes on digitisation

EUNIC Sri Lanka together with Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is presenting the fourth edition of Cinnamon Colomboscope, a contemporary and multidisciplinary arts festival in Colombo. This year, the festival is titled Testing Grounds: Art and Digital Cultures in South Asia and Europe and is being held from 25 August to 1 September at the former General Post Office in Fort, Colombo. 

Digital technology plays a significant role as Sri Lanka seeks to reimagine its future and find its unique position in an increasingly globalised, business-driven world. As in all other fields, the arts too will respond to the changes brought on – among others – by digitisation. This year, Cinnamon Colomboscope is providing ‘testing grounds’ for a new liaison between contemporary art and digital technology in Sri Lanka. 

Established in 2012, Cinnamon Colomboscope is a festival that evolves and changes shape with a new curator each year. Testing Grounds was curated by Dr Susanne Jaschko, a renowned expert in the field of media arts who can look back on an impressive list of international art events and exhibitions. The festival has been curated under three sub-themes – ‘Under the Cloud’, ‘Kaleidoscopia’ and ‘Deep Sensing’ – that offer different perspectives of how society, and contemporary art is responding to the shift towards digital technology in Sri Lanka, the South Asian region and Europe. 

The former General Post Office (GPO) is serving as the festival’s hub. An iconic colonial building erected in 1895, the GPO has been closed off to the public for the last 20 years. Over 50 Sri Lankan and international artists are contributing to this year’s programme including an exhibition, performances, film screenings, conversations and an online exhibition that can be accessed from anywhere. Through a series of workshops and artists’ and thematic conversations, the festival is fostering knowledge exchange between Sri Lankan and international artists, technology specialists and the audience. 

For many artists living and working in Sri Lanka today, working with electronic and digital media remains a widely unexplored field. Testing Grounds, with its focus on contemporary art that creates awareness on how digital technologies impact society and cultures, has commissioned over 10 Sri Lankan artists and artist collectives to foray into this field, conceptualise and produce artworks that reflect on this theme. 

For the schedule and complete list of artists and speakers who will present at Cinnamon Colomboscope 2016, please visit: www.cinnamoncolomboscope.com. Registration for workshops can also be done on the festival website. 

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is the title sponsor of Cinnamon Colomboscope 2016 and the event is organised by EUNIC Sri Lanka comprising of the British Council, Goethe-Institut and Alliance Française de Kotte. The festival is supported by the John Keells Foundation, Cinnamon Life, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Würth, MTV/MBC Network, iFilm Sri Lanka, Debug group, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of the Netherlands, Embassy of the Republic of Turkey , German Embassy Teheran, L’Université Laval, Theertha Artists Collective, Abans, FedEx, Roar-Life and Emerging Media. The festival is held in venue partnership with the Ministry of Post, Postal Services and Muslim Affairs, Post Master General and the Postal Department and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research.

- Pix by Shehan Gunasekara and Lasantha Kumara

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