Healing the world through art: Exhibition next week at Lionel Wendt

In order to bring healing to children suffering from cancer, 15 students of Saumya Jayasekera will exhibit a total of 125 paintings titled ‘Heal the World’ on 31 May and 1 June at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo 7. 

The artists are Aadhya Nirmalan from Ladies College, Sanuka Kaluarachchi, Saden Karunaratne and Kenuka Kandegama from Royal College, Rahma Imran, Hana Imran and Maryam Hamid from Methodist College, Lehara Edirisinghe from Asian International School, Nehan Dodanwala and Dhirren Dodanwala from Colombo International School, Insiya Huzefa and Burhanuddin Huzefa from Burhani Serendib School, Ahmed Imran from Modern Montessori International, G.H.P. Chandani Kumari, a member of the academic staff of Agamethi Vidyalaya and Shari Jayawardhana, a past pupil of Ladies College.

According to the young artists, their creative self-expression released in the therapeutic environment has helped reduce stress associated with their busy exam oriented school life. They also attributed their elevated self-confidence, critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as their psychological wellbeing to their creative pursuits. 

The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days. All the paintings at this exhibition will be on sale and part of the sale proceeds will be channelled towards the Children’s Ward at the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama where there are over 100 children residing and receiving treatment at any given time. Children aged 1-12 are the majority of the group and have come from all regions of the country. The children need to stay at the hospital for a minimum of two months at best. 

The sale proceeds will be used to purchase essential medical and non-medical items used by the children during their stay at the hospital. The artists were very humbled by the fact that their creative work will be able to bring healing to children just like themselves but who are currently receiving treatment for cancer.