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Janaka De Silva is an unassuming artist and a seasoned curator who has over the last two decades created one of the most influential art galleries of Sri Lanka. Situated in the South West at 60, Leyn Baan Street, Galle Fort, the gallery space is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Due to the history associated with the space, it has had the honour of hosting a wide range of contemporary and historic work alike. Moreover, the Galle Fort Gallery has showcased leading artists’ exhibitions such as JC Rathnayake ‘Reality Check’ and also founded Sri Lanka’s First Underwater Sculpture Gallery. The gallery also works with the local artistic community and has exhibited projects that range from sculpture to Sweet Talk international artists’ works.
The building is a stunning merchant house made from coral and shells, and is colonnaded on the front portico leading one into a huge open planned central courtyard. The area also functions as a split-level gallery that moves from smooth concrete to rustic wooden floors. Of further noteworthy mention are the wooden door panels battered with gold, which were commissioned by leading hotelier Karl Steinberg.
Janaka De Silva is a multi-generational artist who has been a cornerstone in the making of the Galle Literary festival from its very inception in 2007, and has also worked with the children’s literary festival programme. This included working with other artists and doing sustainable workshops at the launch of a book about Sri Lanka’s Swimming elephant at the Jetwing Lighthouse Hotel, where beach rubbish was turned into the elephant boat and children painted wooden hand carved elephants. He was also part of the team of innovators of the first Galle Fort Art Trail 2008 and its revival in 2015/16, and created a giant size set for the launch of Around the Galle Fort in 80 lives.
It is only through the collaborative efforts of Janaka De Silva at the Galle Fort Art Gallery, together with the island’s best artists, the community, and the visitors alike, that the gallery has become an important public space as well as one for artistic and intellectual discourse. In spite of the changing times and the increased move of contemporary galleries to online spaces, as the curator Janaka De Silva has remained committed to bringing artworks in the flesh to the public, for in his own words there is no substitute for seeing a painting on canvas or wood.
