Scots fund Sri Lankan art centre

By Alex Robertson
BBC Scotland news website

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An arts centre funded by donations from people across Scotland has opened in Sri Lanka.

The Creation Centre was the brainchild of the Hikkaduwa Area Relief Fund, which has been helping to rebuild the community following the tsunami.

It will offer a base for local community artists and for visiting artists from across the world.

The centre in the jungle comprises a theatre, art gallery, learning centre, workshop space and accommodation.

Fund chairman Neil Butler, from Glasgow, was caught up in the tsunami in Hikkaduwa on 26 December, 2004.

The centre will provide a wonderful focus for our community as we continue to recover from the loss of our friends, families and homes Chaminda Pandithage Community leader In pictures: Centre opening

The Creation Centre opened less than a week after a bomb on a bus exploded in the Hikkaduwa area killing 15 and injuring 40.

Mr Butler said: "This unique centre will use art to provide entertainment, education and inspiration - healing wounds, building understanding and, in light of recent events, helping foster peace."

"The power of art to communicate, inspire and heal is now widely recognised.

"We believe the centre can have a significant impact on the lives of those it touches."

Community leader Chaminda Pandithage added: "Art is central to Sri Lankan culture, we use it to mark and celebrate everything that is important to us from birth to death.

"The Creation Centre will provide a wonderful focus for our community as we continue to recover from the loss of our friends, families and homes."

Ongoing appeal

The opening ceremony included performances by Scottish artists currently undertaking residencies in the centre with the support of the Scottish Arts Council.

Glasgow-based performance artist Ian Smith said working at the centre had been a remarkable experience.

"It is humbling to see how people whose lives were devastated by the tsunami two years ago have begun to rebuild their community and look to the future," he added.

The inauguration ceremony for the Creation Centre was conducted by the Venerable Rewatha, the Glasgow-based Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, who has travelled from his temple in Maryhill for the event.

He said: "The people of this community believe that the work of the centre will support peace and understanding between the communities of our island.

"It will provide an opportunity to celebrate our own culture and understand the lives and beliefs of others."

The fund is now seeking funds to develop a community film programme, equip the library, fund a year round IT education programme and buy the freehold of the centre to secure its long-term future.