Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Saturday, 21 February 2015 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Initially started with the aim of bringing the Sri Lankan online creative market to a physical place, the Colombo Design Market grew into a much larger venture even before the first market was held. Designers, artists, artisans and musicians of all styles and mediums were seeking the opportunity to display their work out in the open.
The brainchild behind this is not one person, but seven visionary souls; Alifiya Mutaher, Buddhima Kurukulasuriya, Ryan Wijayaratne, Munira Mutaher, Sugama Manish and Murad Jayah. The talented team hail from a range of backgrounds including music, architecture, engineering, graphic design and photography.
With a combination of a powerful team and innovative mentors such as Saskia Fernando Hammoud, Anushka Wijesinha, Leah Marikkar, Danu Innasithamby and The Good Market, the Colombo Design Market is able to cater to the needs of the art and design inhabitants in Sri Lanka with the right framework and guidance they deserve.
While the Colombo Design Market provides much needed exposure and results in significant sales by the vendors, they also give more than you expected by meshing different aspects to amplify the opportunities of growth.
The live music act opens up the stage for unique collaborations from different genres that hadn’t been explored previously. The fashion and product designers work together to brainstorm hybrid projects and products. The mix of rural artisans with contemporary designers is promising to create larger networks for design to be recognised valued across the island.
With direction and a perfect blend, the atmosphere at the market is quite surreal. As mentor Leah Marikkar of Grant McCann says, “Colombo Design Market is a much needed initiative and I am excited to be a part of it. Sri Lanka’s collaborative culture is severely underestimated, while it has been a fundamental of vibrancy and growth in other parts of the world. Having watched several sub-cultures such as experimental music, parallax graffiti and product design grow here over time, I look forward to watching them collide at CDM to create and innovate in one space.”
The Market is brimming with creativity and new ideas for all those who decide spend their Sunday surrounded by independent designers, home grown musicians and limited edition products while giving you a chance to discover a part of Sri Lanka that was never seen before. From jewellery, fashion, art and music to established brands such as PUSH Skateboards, Ninalu, Rum Punch and Ky’s Closet, this is only the beginning of a great initiative in the Sri Lankan market. Where else in Sri Lanka would you find one place entirely of original items and get to meet and speak to the creative minds that moulded them?
The designers get the chance to educate those who attend by showing how a piece of art or a product is created. It gives a brilliant (and free!) opportunity for students to learn how different designers work, pick up tools of the trade and have hands on experience of the process. The Market also promotes design inspiration with guest lectures, talks, discussions, independent films and live acts.
The third edition of the Colombo Design Market, sponsored by Fairway Holdings, will be held at the location sponsor Laksala’s Museum Gallery Café tomorrow, 22 February. The amazing local craft opening given by Laksala brought vendors from Jaffna and Kandy, bringing with them cultural designs once hidden in the niche locations of Sri Lanka.
The Colombo Design Market is an exciting gathering for design enthusiasts and designers to indulge in a day dedicated to design. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Laksala Museum Gallery Café, you can spend a refreshing Sunday, having your brain inspired and getting your creative juices flowing.
