Matara’s Festival for the Arts out to prove arts can rebuild a city

By Chanchala Samaraweera Gunewardena

Around the world, leading economies and cultural capitals are either long-standing powerhouses of arts and culture or are actively investing to become so. Whether in cities such as Paris, New Orleans, Dhaka, Kyoto, Mexico City, Bukhara, and London — or in countries like South Korea, India, Bhutan, South Africa, Egypt, and Peru — the pattern is clear: the arts are being recognised as an industry strategy, a tool of foreign policy, and a national development priority.

The numbers speak for themselves. This summer, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny made headlines with a 30-day residency that attracted celebrity attendees including LeBron James, Penélope Cruz, and Kylian Mbappé — and injected nearly USD 200 million in tourism revenue, doubling summer arrivals to 600,000. Meanwhile, as noted by UN Trade and Development,the global juggernauts of K-Pop,K-Beauty and K-Dramas ‘boast a 4% to 5% annual growth rate, employ over 600,000 people, and generate $12.4 billion in export revenue in 2021. In comparison, the Republic of Korea’s consumer electronic equipment exports generated $4.7 billion.’

University College London (UCL) Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value Mariana Mazzucato, released a discussion paper on The Public Value of Arts and Culture. She notes that when governments embed art, green spaces, sports, cultural programmes, and social services into public infrastructure, they not only improve quality of life but also signal that “all people, especially the most marginalised, deserve dignity, beauty, and joy.” 

The World Bank echoed this in its 2020 publication The Hidden Wealth of Cities, observing that people who live near high-quality public spaces are more trusting, less isolated, and have greater faith in government. And in this age of AI, do we even need to underline how vital human creativity, originality, and connection have become?

This is all good news for Sri Lanka. We possess a cultural fabric of exceptional richness — in our food, fashion, literature, music, religious festivals - via the work of historians, contemporary collectives and internationally recognised artists. Properly nurtured at a national level, these could generate significant economic and social dividends.

Yet those working in our arts sectors often describe a tough road: funding is scarce or must be constantly validated. And when impact is made, it too feels short-lived in appreciation - undervalued and unsung. All this is while the evidence suggests it ought to be very much otherwise.

Consider that when Sri Lanka earns international acclaim — whether it is Matara-based Asia’s Best Award winners like the Smoke and Bitters team, or the jam-packed Mixmag Asia partnered music series by Dots Bay House; or our artists bringing home global prizes from the Booker to the Olivier, or Condé Nast spotlighting our surf culture, and architectural journals doing the same with Lankan heritage, and contemporary design —  that these, and the knock on impact these acclaims bring, are all triumphs of our creative industries. Furthermore, as indicated by World Bank Sri Lanka’s recently announced strategic focus on cultural tourism initiatives to support increased visit durations and spend by tourists in the Western Province, culture is central to unlocking economic growth.

So when the arts are working overtime to bring economic benefit, intellectual enrichment, joy and pride, shouldn’t we reassess how we are often too quick to minimise its value?

I think of all this when recalling the government’s 2023 invitation to us to establish a festival for art and music at the height of the economic crisis as a means of revitalising tourism and rebuilding the economy. In many ways Matara was the perfect place to test this approach - for its Fort had been left devastated and in stasis since the 2004 tsunami. It had also long been centred around the Matara judicial and administrative offices, making it less inviting to public enjoyment or commercial activity. 

However in 2023, the completion of a new Matara courts complex in Kotawila, freed up government owned buildings in the Fort for a reimagining. Turning the Old High Court into an art exhibition space was an opportunity to breathe new life into the city, and show that decentralised development is a vital strategy to steel Sri Lankans against future crises and stem the outflow of youth and talent from outer districts. In this regard, for those of us behind MFA — family, friends, and colleagues of fashion designer turned politician late Mangala Samaraweera —  the festival has presented a vehicle way to carry forward unfinished dreams both visionary and policy pragmatic.

Community capacity-building and support for exposure to local and global ideas have been central pillars of MFA from year one. The inaugural 2024 festival was free to attend, and featured an extensive contemporary art training programme and a robust ten-session music-in-action program, funded by John Keells Foundation and USAID respectively. 

On the art side of things, eight young community artists were mentored for 5 months by five established practitioners. This resulted in the creation of public artworks from recycled plastics and visual art inspired by the often-overlooked labour of Matara’s municipal streetcare staff - both which took centre stage at the final exhibition. Meanwhile, six Sri Lankan and international musicians mentored over 60 aspiring singers and instrumentalists in the power of free expression and voice. They demonstrated the exciting potential for collaboration between Sri Lankan and global music. A core group of these young performers debuted an original song at MFA’s closing concert — their first taste of taking a professional stage.

All these same objectives for cultural led empowerment and development carry forward into 2025 in collaboration with the present government. MFA will return this December alongside policy efforts led by a committee of public and private experts (which include MFA members), who are drafting a Matara Heritage and Development Foundation Act. The Act proposes a public–private board of stakeholders to guide preservation, development, investment, job creation, sustainability, and cultural activity in the district — democratically, transparently, and with broad local and international reach.

Both the Festival and the Act, working in tandem, show clearly how vision and ambitions projected first by a festival can be cemented and bolstered through policy.

From team MFA and Sri Lanka’s governments then, the vision is clear: the arts are not adornment, but a partner — a force that can shape actions, systems, and attitudes for progress. Arts that are people-centred, inclusive, collaborative, and imaginative enough to rebuild one city, and potentially more. We hope you will rally with us for this vision by joining us from the 12 to 15 December in Matara.

The writer is Co-Founder and Festival Director, Matara Festival for the Arts and Programme Lead for Freedom Hub Matara (MFA’s founding organisation)