Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo welcomes world-renowned Gregory Burns as artist-in-residence

Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo welcomed Gregory Burns as the hotel’s first artist-in-residence. During his residence, the renowned American artist will experience Sri Lanka amidst the luxurious services and facilities of the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo and the Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort and Spa. To give guests a first hand experience on his techniques in his creations, Gregory Burns will be in the golf resort until 9 December and thereafter in the hotel from 10 to 19 December.

Burns will pull together a diverse collection of colours and imagery with which he will portray the beauty of nature. This is the first of an upcoming series to continuously position Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo as the centre to access the transformative power of knowledge in various disciplines.

The choice of Burns as the first artist-in-residence rests with his longstanding relationship with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. He was first introduced to the family as artist-in-residence in 2010 and 2011 at Shangri-La Maldives and later at Shangri-La Tokyo in 2012. Recently, his latest collection, Painted Journeys, were also featured at The Gallery at Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai. In early 2013, Burns also joined the hotel’s efforts in engaging the community. 

In a similar stance Burns will engage in the communities of Sri Lanka, firstly with an art competition by the special education unit in ‘Navajeevana’ – a non-governmental organisation based in the Hambantota District of southern Sri Lanka, and secondly with a motivational speech towards the youth in Colombo’s neighbouring community.

A three-time Paralympic athlete, Burns has won gold medals and set world records in swimming pools from Barcelona to Sydney. As a painter, he has carried canvas and brush across five continents. Whether searching for new vistas to paint, travelling on business during a stint in the corporate world or flying to meet one of his many motivational speaking or charity commitments, Burns spends a lot of time on the road.