Between 11th and 14th July 2024, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust launched the third season of their ongoing programme, To Lunuganga, celebrating 75 years of Geoffrey Bawa’s garden. Over the past twelve months, Seasons 1 and 2 featured multivocal projects under themes like “nature and the natural,” “empathy through ecology,” “access beyond language,” and “garden as lens.”

The third and final season was welcomed with events across Colombo and Bentota, including the launch of two new installations at Lunuganga. The weekend began  in Colombo with an opening reception at the Trust’s new office: the Kannangara House, designed by Geoffrey Bawa between 1959 and 1961. Chairperson Channa Daswatte greeted guests, while Chief Curator Shayari de Silva reflected on the eighteen-month programme and previewed its third season.

Curator Aneesha Mustachi introduced the Tree Talks Listening Room, the first installation at the Kannangara House, showcasing episodes of the eponymous podcast, including the newly-released Garden Rhythms, featuring an interview with Head Gardener Mulle Widanalage Amarasiri. On Saturday, 13th July, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust and Ena de Silva Foundation unveiled a new installation, Botany and Batik: the Living Archives of Ena de Silva, located at Lunuganga’s No. 05, formerly the Ena de Silva House. This installation highlighted de Silva’s documentation of the natural world and its influence on her textile practice, alongside drawings by her son, artist Anil Gamini Jayasuriya, with metalwork artist Salome Nanayakkara honouring Jayasuriya’s memory through artistic renderings of his ecological interests.

Artist Firi Rahman offered tours of his installation, In between: the existence of Firdaus, which has been on view at Lunuganga since December 2023 and officially launched in February 2024. Rahman discussed his creative process and the experience of conceptualizing his first outdoor installation, designed to evolve with the changing environment of the 03 Ravibandu Vidyapathi peforms against  the stunning backdrop of Lunuganga garden. Tours were given on both Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday evening, renowned musician, dance practitioner, and choreographer Ravibandu Vidyapathi took the stage. Vidyapathi, who composed the soundtrack to Salt River, the first film about Lunuganga which premiered in 2004, returned to reimagine the score, complete with an impressive ensemble orchestra and film projections. Guests enjoyed cocktails inspired by Lunuganga’s flora from Colombo restaurant GINI during a sunset cocktail hour. The restaurant, known for its live-fire outdoor cooking, prepared innovative dishes using locally sourced ingredients in a fire pit in the garden. GINI also created a specially-designed picnic menu for the next day, enjoyed by guests as Colombo artist Ruvin de Silva deejayed with a playlist curated to the garden setting. Rockland supplied cocktails for the picnic, crafted with their locally manufactured spirits.

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust’s Youth Advisory Board then facilitated a scavenger hunt, encouraging participants to explore the garden through objectives featuring Lunuganga-centric lore, species, and installations.

PIX BY Pradeep Dilrukshana