See Colombo of the past and present in an all-new way with Cinnamon Colomboscope, a three-day, multi-disciplinary event that will see local and visiting experts discuss a wide range of issues associated with the city. The panelists will include authors, architects, artists, journalists, musicians, corporate and business leaders, gourmands, political commentators, city planners and citizen historians.
See Colombo of the past and present in an all-new way with Cinnamon Colomboscope, a three-day, multi-disciplinary event that will see local and visiting experts discuss a wide range of issues associated with the city. The panelists will include authors, architects, artists, journalists, musicians, economists, corporate and business leaders, gourmands, political commentators, city planners and citizen historians. Some events are by invitation only, while others are ticketed and some are even free. Here’s just a brief look at their events.
The City. Identity. Urbanity – Kerry Young and Naresh Fernandes will kick off the event with an introductory reading and book-signing. Kerry Young is a British author who has written two novels, Pao and Gloria. Naresh Fernandes is an Indian journalist and editor of scroll.in, a digital daily based in India. He is the author of the non-fiction books, City Adrift and Taj Mahal Foxtrot:The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age.
Tickets: Entrance by invitation
Join professor and journalist Asoka Mendis De Zoysa as he takes you on a stroll through Colombo 2. Discover the people and places of this historic part of town and how it has changed, as seen through the eyes of a city-walker.
Tickets: Free
British-Jamaican-Chinese author Kerry Young and Indian writer and journalist Naresh Fernandes will read from their novels and explore representations of cities. The event will be moderated by Ashok Ferrey, the author of Colpetty People, The Good Little Ceylonese Girl.
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat
Lawyer and political commentator Gehan Gunatilleke will conduct a dialogue between architect Madhura Premathilake, urban planner Remo Burkhadt and Ajitha De Costa, chairperson of the Western Regional Megapolis Project, on how development can balance the demands of infrastructure, transportation, housing and rapid growth with the needs of the people, environment and sustainability.
Ticket: Rs. 300 per seat
Satirist, novelist and writer Jonathan Coe will join French author Eric Reinhardt in reading from their novels. The aim of this session is to provide an insight into the use of humour and satire in portraying the lives and aspirations of 'city people’. The event will be moderated by the director of the British Council in Sri Lanka, Keith Davies.
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat
Economist Deshal De Mel will be in conversation with Vijay Nagaraj, a researcher at the Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sancheevan Mahendran, a businessman based in Pettah, and Upul Jayasuriya, the Chairman of Board of Investment in Sri Lanka (BOI). They will be discuss the role that investment plays in large projects and small start-ups. They will look at Pettah's contributions to the city and also explore the economy of Colombo, pre- and post-war.
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat.
Sanjana Hattotuwa, founder of citizen journalism website Groundviews, will join science writer Nalaka Gunawardene to explore technology and innovation in the context of politics. The event will be moderated by advocate Priyanga Hettiarachi
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat
Author Ashok Ferrey along with photographer Halik Azeez and historian and civil servant Deshamanya Bradman Weerakoon will investigate how location determines identity. What happens when Colombo changes and people move — who are they and where do they belong? Author and publisher Ameena Hussein will moderate the event.
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat
This session will explore themes of gender, sex and sexuality in Colombo through a theatre performance and interview curated by actor and director Tracy Holsinger. Contributors will include Dr. Dayanath Ranatunga, Eric Reinhardt, Indu Dharmasena, Grassrooted, Shanuki de Alwis, Equal Ground and Mind Adventures Theatre Company.
Tickets: Free
Food. In an aspiring cosmopolitan city, how does the ‘idea’ of food and its consumption change? This idea will be explored at a curated dinner at Café Francais with culinary and wine experts Catherine Obrenovic and Laure Oger, and French author Eric Reinhardt.
Ticket: Rs. 6,500
For those who can't make it on the first day, the event is offered again on the second day. A brief walk through Colombo 2 with Asoka Mendis de Zoysa.
Tickets: Free
Time: 9 AM– 10 AM
Join food blogger and Australian Masterchef alumna Natasha Shan, and Founder of the Academy of Design and the Sri Lanka Design Festival, Linda Speldewinde, as they share their views on Colombo’s lifestyle, fashion and food scene. Indi Samarajiva, Director of YAMU, will moderate the event.
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat
Political cartoonist Gihan de Chikera, British satirist Jonathan Coe and Indian journalist and editor of scroll.in, Naresh Fernandes, will explore how they strive to represent and question the realities of the cities in which they live through new media, satire and cartoons. Journalist Smriti Daniel will moderate this discussion.
Tickets: Rs. 300
As Colombo grows, what role does spirituality play in the urban search for meaning? A self-described stockbroker-in-search-of-spirituality, Navin Ratnayake will explore two approaches through two interviews. The first one will be with Ven. Upatissa Thero on consciousness and the second will be with Rev. Kirby de Lanerolle on new forms of spirituality.
Ticket: Rs. 300
International curator Natasha Ginwale will talk to Colomboscope artists Lucy Skaer, Alexandra Navratil, Susanne Winterling, Agnieszka Polska and Liz Fernando about art, public expression and narratives of cityscapes.
Tickets: Rs. 300
Sumeet Shetty, president of India's largest book club, Literati, will join British- Jamaican-Chinese author Kerry Young and celebrated French author Eric Reinhardt to explore the darker sides of characters, the cities they inhabit, the passions that drive them and the conflicts that shape them.
Tickets: Rs. 300 per seat
This event will feature Australian-Sri Lankan musician Larry T Hill, Tamil rap sensation Krishnan and internationally acclaimed actor Kaushalya Fernando, with actor and director Peter d'Almeida moderating.
Tickets: Rs. 300
Explore ‘urban music’ through a mash-up of Colombo’s sub-cultures including Sinhala, Tamil, English rap, urban poetry and acoustic guitar at Castle Hotel Bar. The event is curated by musician, blogger and poet Imaad Majid and brings together the performances by Buddhi De Mel from the band Wagon Park, rap artists Oj Da Tamil Rapper and Rz Omar, singer Samila Vidanage, poet Ruwan Bandujeewa and singer Dylan Perera, among others.
Tickets: Free
A curated dinner by Chef Riccado at Echo, Cinnamon Grand while architects Alex Lehnerer and Savaas Ciriacidis—who have both exhibited at the Venice Biennale—share their work on how architecture can 'perform' in the context of nationhood?
Tickets: Rs. 6,500 per seat
Purchase your tickets here.
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