Prince Claus Fund Biennial Symposium 2023 – Legacies of Care, Failures and Emerging Solidarities

From left: Prince Claus Fund Director Marcus Desando, Symposium Artistic Director Keng Sen Ong, Prince Claus Fund Chair of the Board Ila Kasem, Prince Claus Fund Board Honorary Chair Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, performance artist Venuri Perera, and Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts Chairperson Channa Daswatte

Choreographed performance by artist Venuri Perera​

• Organised in collaboration with Geoffrey Bawa Trust

The Prince Claus Fund launched on 3 December its first Biennial Symposium, titled Legacies of Care, Failures and Emerging Solidarities. Taken place from 3-5 December in Colombo and Bentota, this inaugural event featured talks, presentations, tours, performances and more.

“As a Fund, we have been tirelessly working on finding ways how we can engage global cultural practitioners who aspire to make this world more peaceful, equitable and inclusive. We hope that our Biennial Symposium will serve as a catalyst for us and for all of you to find ways to address urgent societal challenges and stimulate international solidarity across such global issues as climate, equity, and freedom,” says Prince Claus Fund Director Marcus Desando.

The event kicked off in Colombo with a dance performance titled ‘Whose History is it, Anyway?’ choreographed by performance artist Venuri Perera. On 4 December, the Biennial Symposium continued with a full day of talks, presentations and discussions starting from 9:30 at the Stables Venue, Park Street Mews, Colombo. The event was free.

The three-day Symposium culminated with an event titled Seeds for the Future taking place on 5 December 5:30 p.m. at the Lunuganga Estate in Bentota, where the honorary Chair of the Prince Claus Fund Board, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands had a conversation with the Symposium’s Artistic Director Keng Sen Ong reflecting on the Fund’s work and legacy, alongside the presentations of Prince Claus Seed Awardees Chathuri Nissansala, Parilojithan Ramanathan, Adit Dewan, Ankur, Arpita Akhanda, Debashish Paul, Moe Myat May Zarchi, Ujjwala Maharjan, Suranga Katugampala, Ammara Jabbar and Asad Ali Zulfiqar. 

“I really look forward to the coming days and I hope that we can do our best in creating a space for South-to-South knowledge exchange – something that we find to be so important at the Prince Claus Fund. We need space to connect, learn from one another, share and reflect so that we can build together. This is what the Prince Claus Biennial Symposium is all about,” said Prince Constantijn. 

Organised in collaboration with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust and co-curated with renowned Artistic Director Keng Sen Ong, the Biennial Symposium welcomed international and local thinkers, artists and change-makers, such as one of the country’s leading architects, Channa Daswatte; renowned filmmaker, Anomaa Rajakaruna; accomplished artist and art historian, Thamotharampillai Sanathanan; choreographer and performance artist Venuri Perera; arts educator Sharareh Bajracharya; artist and curator Fadescha; visual artist and 2020 Prince Claus Laureate from Pakistan, Hira Nabi; Nepali writer, publisher, and 2009 Prince Claus Laureate, Kanak Manit Dixit; visual artist and 2020 Principal Prince Claus Laureate, Ibrahim Mahama, and more.