2 DATES

Monday, 4 April
4.00 p.m. SLST

Tuesday, 5 April
4.00 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews, 
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Curator’s Tour: Led by Exhibition Curator, Shayari de Silva

Join exhibition and Geoffrey Bawa Trust curator Shayari de Silva, on a walkthrough of the exhibition that reveals specialist insights on the multiple threads connecting the objects selected for the show. Visitors will gain in-depth understanding on gallery themes through the projects exhibited, but also taking into consideration the broader composition of the Geoffrey Bawa archives.

2 DATES

Tuesday, 1  March
12:30 p.m. SLST

Friday, 4  March
5:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Show and Tell: Curatorial Team favourites!

Join three members of the exhibition team to learn about the exhibition objects each one chose as their personal favourite! Each team member will speak on their choice for 15 minutes, telling the stories behind their preference and highlighting the relevance of their objects to the rest of the exhibition. Have a personal favourite object? During the week of the event, share a photograph and a note explaining your choice on Instagram with the hashtag #favetbt and tag on Instagram (@geoffreybawatrust) for a chance to win a drawing or botanical print of your choice, directly from our merch section!

Thursday, 3  March
6:00 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Reflections: A Guided tour with Channa Daswatte

Join Geoffrey Bawa Trust chairperson and one of Bawa's last architectural partner Channa Daswatte on a tour of the exhibition for a chance to hear first-hand accounts of what it was like to be a part of Bawa’s practice. Channa will share perspectives from his own experiences working on projects like Kandalama, the reconstruction of the Bentota Beach Hotel. Hearing these narratives will no doubt offer an opportunity to reflect on the collaborative nature of any spatial practice!

Saturday, 5  March
11:00 a.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

The Relative Security of Known and Learnt Things: Stitching Architecture with Hema Shironi

The arts played a vital, inseparable role in Bawa’s architecture. Art and architecture practices both require that we traverse the relative security of known and learnt things into unchartered territories traversed by intuitions and inklings. Join us as we take a closer look at what it means to take these paths in a creative practice with Hema Shironi who reflects on her practice of 'stitching architecture', where she recreates the various places she has lived in for short periods of time through stitching on fabric.

Hema Shironi is a multidisciplinary artist who recently completed her MFA at Beacon House National University Lahore. Her work explores themes around the subjects of domesticity, language, culture and memory.

Saturday, 5  March
12:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Workshop: Stitching Architecture with Hema Shironi

Join Hema Shironi after a conversation on 'stitching architecture', for a workshop based on the artist's work titled 'Appliqued foundation'. Participants will use collective memories of houses to make their dream house, plans, memories or fantasies.

Required materials: Pieces of colored printed fabric (waste fabric, old clothes etc), paper stiff (strips and sheets), dot pins, needles, thread, scissors, pencils.

Monday, 7 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

Via Zoom

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Online Event: A Conversation with Architectural Photographer Hélène Binet
[via Zoom]

Join us at the Geoffrey Bawa Trust for a conversation with acclaimed architectural photographer Hélène Binet. A fervent advocate of analogue photography, working exclusively with film, and a firm believer that ‘the soul of photography is its relationship with the instant,’ Binet has photographed Geoffrey Bawa's work and describes her encounter with Bawa's garden Lunuganga, as a pivotal moment in her career. In this special event Binet will share photographs of Lunuganga and the Ena de Silva house from her archives, many of which have not been shown previously, and speak about her practice.

Tuesday, 8 March
6:00 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Guided Tour: English

Members of the curatorial team of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust welcome visitors to a guided exhibition tour to reflect on the broader ideas addressed in the exhibition. Learn about the objects featured and their relevance to the themes of the It is Essential to be There. While covering the whole exhibition, visitors have a chance to hear different interpretations of the discussions prompted by the show, aligned with the each of the collections professionals in our team’s interests. Find out more on their favorite objects and why they like them!

Wednesday, 9 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo 07

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Getting the Picture Out: A Conversation on Architecture and Tourism

In this discussion, the interplay between architecture and tourism will be explored. What is the role of architecture in projecting the image of a place, and how important is creating a distinct identity of a place in it's success as a tourist destination? Join us as we explore these questions and more with representatives from Hemas Hotels, Aitken Spence, Cinnamon Hotels and Jetwing Hotels, at the Bawa-designed Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute Auditorium.

Thursday, 10 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Reflections: with Architect Ismeth Raheem

Join Ismeth Raheem on a tour of the exhibition for a chance to hear first-hand accounts of what it was like to be a part of Bawa’s practice. Ismeth will share perspectives from his own experiences working on projects like Yahapath Endara Farm School in Hanwella, Serendib Hotel in Bentota, and Connemara Hotel in Madras. Hearing these narratives will no doubt offer an opportunity to reflect on the collaborative nature of any spatial practice!

Friday, 11 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Exhibition themes: A Tour with the Curatorial Team

Would you like to understand the work displayed in the exhibition in the context of broader discussions? From a selection of exhibition objects made by a member of the curatorial team, learn about direct connections with each of the eight themes informing It is Essential to be There. These include connections between architecture and the environment, professional practice, writing, conservation, power, technology, images and art.

Saturday, 12 March
11:15 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

A Decision To Do This and Not That: A Conversation on Spatial Practice

The success of a practice like Bawa’s is reliant on the navigation of a profession. Creative practices are inherently collaborative and intertwined with the lives and works of others. In this discussion, we explore what it takes to make work, and speak with contemporary practitioners and previous winners of the Geoffrey Bawa Award for Excellence in Architecture Palinda Kannangara and Pradeep Kodikara to understand what getting things done means in today’s context.

2 DATES

Sunday, 6 March
11:00 a.m. SLST

Sunday, 13 March
11:00 a.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Itty Bitty Workshop: Creative Workshops for Children (ages 7 and above)

Have any E-T B-T creatives at home? Let their expression run free in these Geoffrey Bawa-inspired workshops for children! Using different art supplies, kids will explore themes like drawing and representing nature, the basic design of stable structures, narratives and storytelling in exhibitions, and more. Each of the workshops responds to one of the eight themes explored by It is Essential to be There.

Wednesday, 16 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Reflections: A Guided tour with Channa Daswatte

Join Geoffrey Bawa Trust chairperson and one of Bawa's last architectural partner Channa Daswatte on a tour of the exhibition for a chance to hear first-hand accounts of what it was like to be a part of Bawa’s practice. Channa will share perspectives from his own experiences working on projects like Kandalama, the reconstruction of the Bentota Beach Hotel. Hearing these narratives will no doubt offer an opportunity to reflect on the collaborative nature of any spatial practice!

Thursday, 17 March
11:15 a.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Archiving Architecture: Relocation of Ena de Silva House

Join architect Amila de Mel, heritage conservationist Dr Nilan Cooray, architect K.K.G. Lakmali, and Joe Fernando, consultant QS and project manager  to discuss the process of shifting this important urban house from Colombo to its current location at Lunuganga in Bentota.

2 DATES

Thursday, 17 March
4:30 p.m. SLST

Sunday, 3 April
11:15 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Guided tour for younger visitors
(ages 6 - 12 years)

Larissa Guimaraes, assistant curator of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, welcomes younger visitors to a guided exhibition tour to reflect on the broader ideas addressed in the exhibition. Learn about the objects featured and their relevance to the themes of It is Essential to be There. Suited for ages 6 - 12 years.

Saturday, 19 March
11:15 a.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Sketching Architecture with Jasmine Nilani Joseph

The arts played a vital, inseparable role in Bawa’s architecture. Art and architecture practices both require that we traverse the relative security of known and learnt things into unchartered territories traversed by intuitions and inklings. Join us as we take a closer look at what it means to take these paths in a creative practice with Jasmine Nilani Joseph.  In 2015 when she visited the land of her ancestors, she saw many abandoned buildings within fences, which inspired her to start sketching architecture to talk about barriers, displacement, memory, and archives.

Jasmine Nilani Joseph is a practising artist based in Jaffna. She holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Jaffna.

Saturday, 19 March
12:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Workshop: Sketching Architecture with Jasmine Nilani Joseph

Join Jasmine Nilani Joseph after her reflections on her own practice of 'sketching architecture' for a group exercise in documenting architecture through lived histories. Participants are encouraged to bring the following materials to the workshop: Drawing pencils, ink pens, black crayons, charcoal. Drawing paper will be provided.

Jasmine Nilani Joseph is a practising artist based in Jaffna. She holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Jaffna.

Sunday, 20 March
4:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Guided Tour by Assistant Curator, Larissa Guimaraes

Larissa Guimaraes, assistant curator of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, welcomes visitors to a guided exhibition tour to reflect on the broader ideas addressed in the exhibition. Learn about the objects featured and their relevance to the themes of It is Essential to be There.

2 DATES

Sunday, 20 March
11:00 a.m. SLST
Led by Shyamala School of Art.


Sunday, 27 March
11:00 a.m. SLST
Led by architect and Geoffrey Bawa Trust Assistant Curator Larissa Guimaraes.

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Itty Bitty Workshop: Creative Workshops for Children (ages 7 and above)

Have any E-T B-T creatives at home? Let their expression run free in these Geoffrey Bawa-inspired workshops for children! Using different art supplies, kids will explore themes like drawing and representing nature, the basic design of stable structures, narratives and storytelling in exhibitions, and more. Each of the workshops responds to one of the eight themes explored by It is Essential to be There.

Monday, 21 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

Via Zoom

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Things, Spaces, Interactions: A special virtual tour of the M+ Design and Architecture galleries

M+ is Hong Kong’s recently opened museum of 20th and 21st century visual culture. Designed by renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, M+ is one of Hong Kong’s most iconic architectural landmarks, both monumental in its form and radically open in its position within the urban landscape.

Boasting over 8,000 works, including the largest and most comprehensive collection of contemporary Chinese art in the world, M+ is the first museum of its kind in Asia with a multi-disciplinary collection encompassing visual art, design and architecture, and moving image from Hong Kong, greater China, Asia, and beyond.

Join us for this special opportunity to explore this pioneering museum, through a closer look at the Design and Architecture-focused opening exhibition Things, Spaces, Interactions. It includes key works from Sri Lanka by Geoffrey Bawa and Ena de Silva in one of the five sections that highlights how design and architectural production shaped (and have been shaped) by local, national and regional aspirations. This session will be led by Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director of M+, Yokoyama Ikko, Lead Curator of Design and Architecture and Shirley Surya, Curator of Design and Architecture at M+.

Wednesday, 23 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

A Very Particular Response: A Conversation on the Making of the Kandalama Hotel

Taking Geoffrey Bawa’s approach that the architectural response to a place was specific to its particular topography and climate but also its larger environmental, social, and political context, we explore the interplay between architecture and the environment with a conversation on the making of the Kandalama Hotel with Project Architect Dilshan Ferdinando, engineer Deepal Wickremasinghe and former Chairman of Aitken Spence PLC, Prema Cooray.

Thursday, 24 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

The Total Picture: Geoffrey Manning Bawa and Decolonizing Architecture, with Shanti Jayawardene

Exploring the links between knowledge, writing, building, and power, in this session we will consider the narratives regarding Bawa's work and its relationship to Sri Lanka with Dr. Shanti Jayawardene, author of Geoffrey Manning Bawa: Decolonizing Architecture. Words and structures, language and scaffolds are intertwined to highlight the complexity of Geoffrey Bawa's architectural engagement with the country, its past, present and future.

Saturday, 26 March
11.15 a.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Archiving a Batik Practice: Ena de Silva’s Aluwihare Heritage Centre

In the age of the anthropocene, the role of technology in our lives is apparent everywhere. In this segment we talk about techniques and technologies, in the sense of the avant garde as well as the traditions and crafts that Bawa’s practice held in high regard.

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust welcomes architect Amila de Mel, designers Anne Nissanka and Senushi Fonseka, and Chandra and Nanda from the Aluwihare Heritage Centre to this discussion, moderated by Channa Daswatte.

Monday, 28 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Building Art and Communities

The Arts played a vital role in Geoffrey Bawa's work, and 'The Relative Security of Known and Learnt Things' is the segment where we explore the relationship between art and architecture. This conversation between members of Fearless Collective and We Are From Here Project will explore their use of murals and public art interventions addressing personal histories and cultural & political realities. Both collectives use buildings and sites for their murals and art, reclaiming space and magnifying stories of communities they work with. This session will be moderated by Tehani Ariyaratne.

The Community Project 'We Are From Here' focuses on religious tolerance, minority history telling and inter-faith solidarity, aiming at archiving oral testimonies and objects witnessing and exemplifying the urban trans-formation process and corresponding displacement in the multiethnic neighbourhood Slave Island.

Fearless is a South Asia based public arts project that creates space to move from fear to love using participative public art. In 2012, Bangalore-based visual artist Shilo Shiv Suleman started Fearless in response to the powerful protests that shook the country in response to the “Nirbhaya” tragedy in Delhi, India. Since then, Fearless has worked in over 10 countries, co-creating 38 murals, reclaiming spaces, carving out public depictions of women and their significance in societies around the world.

3 DATES

Tuesday, 29 March
6.30 p.m. SLST

Friday, 1 April
6.30 p.m. SLST

Sunday, 3 April
4.30 p.m. SLST

Monday, 4 April
4.00 p.m. SLST

Tuesday, 5 April
4.00 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Curator’s Tour: Led by Exhibition Curator, Shayari de Silva

Join exhibition and Geoffrey Bawa Trust curator Shayari de Silva, on a walkthrough of the exhibition that reveals specialist insights on the multiple threads connecting the objects selected for the show. Visitors will gain in-depth understanding on gallery themes through the projects exhibited, but also taking into consideration the broader composition of the Geoffrey Bawa archives.

Wednesday, 30  March
5:00 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Reflections: A Guided tour with Channa Daswatte

Join Geoffrey Bawa Trust chairperson and one of Bawa's last architectural partner Channa Daswatte on a tour of the exhibition for a chance to hear first-hand accounts of what it was like to be a part of Bawa’s practice. Channa will share perspectives from his own experiences working on projects like Kandalama, the reconstruction of the Bentota Beach Hotel. Hearing these narratives will no doubt offer an opportunity to reflect on the collaborative nature of any spatial practice!

Thursday, 31 March
6:30 p.m. SLST

Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute,
Colombo 07

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Contemporaries: Considering architectural archives of Minnette de Silva, Valentine Gunasekera, Justin Samarasekera and Panini Tennekoon

In this discussion, we widen the focus of Sri Lankan architecture of the last century to some of Geoffrey Bawa’s very important contemporaries, including Minnette de Silva, Valentine Gunasekera, Panini Tennekoon and Justin Samarasekera, to understand the different formats each of their archives might take. We welcome panelists Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi, Nela de Soysa, Sumedha Kelegama and Milinda Pathiraja to the discussion, which will be moderated by Geoffrey Bawa Trust Chairperson Channa Daswatte and Geoffrey Bawa Trust Curator of Art and Archival Collections Shayari de Silva.

Saturday, 2 April
11.15 a.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

The Total Picture: Expos, Economics and Architecture

This session will explore Sri Lanka's trade history, anchored to Geoffrey Bawa's design of the Ceylon Pavilion at Expo 1970 in Osaka. It is particularly relevant this year as the latest edition of Expo is being held in Dubai. What has changed with Sri Lanka's exports and country promotion between the time Bawa designed for Expo and now?

With economist Anushka Wijesinha and former Chairperson of the Export Development Board (EDB), Indira Malwatte.

Saturday, 2 April
4.30 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Guided tour by Curatorial Team

Members of the curatorial team of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust welcome visitors to a guided exhibition tour to reflect on the broader ideas addressed in the exhibition. Learn about the objects featured and their relevance to the themes of It is Essential to be There. While covering the whole exhibition, visitors have a chance to hear different interpretations of the discussions prompted by the show, aligned with each of the collections professionals in our team’s interests.

Sunday, 3 April
11:15 p.m. SLST

The Stables, Park Street Mews,
Colombo 02

Limited capacity for all events, register via our Eventbrite page

Guided tour for younger visitors
(ages 6 - 12 years)

Larissa Guimaraes, assistant curator of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, welcomes younger visitors to a guided exhibition tour to reflect on the broader ideas addressed in the exhibition. Learn about the objects featured and their relevance to the themes of It is Essential to be There. Suited for ages 6 - 12 years.