Architect Geoffrey Bawa set up the Geoffrey Bawa Trust 40 years ago in 1982, he made the remarkable decision of issuing a mandate that was to foster ecological and environmental sciences, art, and architecture. Perhaps as an architect whose life’s work is centred around a garden, this foresight was inevitable. That garden, Lunuganga, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, in 2023.

Felicitating this occasion, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust explores the inseparability of art and ecology with “To Lunuganga”; a one year programme dedicated to the garden by using the garden as a lens for engagement. To Lunuganga is organised across three seasons, considering the overarching and
increasingly unpredictable temporalities at Lunuganga, and its relationship to the Earth’s crust, to the biosphere, and the cosmos and a range of events merging cultural and ecological activities will be
presented in each season.

There are four essential themes that underlie in the programme: nature and the natural, empathy through ecology, access beyond language and garden as lens.

Season 1, Yala /Sirupokam / SouthwestMonsoon 2023 from May to August 2023, collaborates with a
range of individuals and institutions from Sri Lanka and overseas. The garden will be open to all, free of charge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 23, 2023.

Here’s what’s in store this week on Season 1 of To Lunuganga
THURSDAY, JULY 20 (COLOMBO)
Tour Number 11 and the de Saram House
| 10 a.m – 11.am

Geoffrey Bawa’s Colombo residence and the de Saram house by Geoffrey Bawa. A Light Through Time Exhibition | 4.pm – 5.pm

Curatorial tour of A Light through Time Exhibition by Aneesha Mustachi at Number 11, Geoffrey Bawa’s Colombo Residence.

Bawa’s Garden Premier Screening | 7 p.m – 9 p.m
Join Director Clara Kraft for the premier screening of ‘Bawa’s Garden’ at Scope Cinemas, followed by a Q+A with the Director moderated by Mariah Lookman.

FRIDAY, JULY 21 (BENTOTA)
Launch of installation: Reen Kallat | 5 p.m – 6 p.m
Three celebrated artists will make site-specific works at Lunuganga for the programme; Sumayya Vally, Reena Kallat and Firi Rahman. Join Reena Kallat on the launch of her installation and the introduction of the other artists in forthcoming seasons in conversation with Suhanya Raffel, Trustee and Executive
Director of M+ and Shayari de Silva, Chief Curator, moderated by Aneesha Mustachi. To be
followed by Sundowner Cocktails from 6. 30 p.m onwards.

SATURDAY, JULY 22 (BENTOTA)
Hog Deer Excursion | 6.30 a.m – 8 a.m
Join on an excursion to take boats to Honduwa island to see hog deer, guided by University of Jayewardenapura researcher, Vimukthi Fernando

Tour Lunuganga | 10 a.m – 11 a.m
Join Prof. Sarath Kotagama from the University of Colombo on an ecological tour of Lunuganga.

Picnic at Lunuganga | 12 p.m – 2 p.m
Join us for a delightful day in nature at Lunuganga Garden and enjoy a picnic amidst lush greenery and
serene landscapes.

Tour Lunuganga | 3.30 p.m – 4.30 p.m
Join Geoffrey Bawa Trust Chairperson Channa Daswatte on tours of Lunuganga and Architect Amila de Mel on tours of Ena de Silva house.

20th Annual Memorial Lecture | 5 p.m – 6.30 p.m

The 20th Annual Memorial Lecture: On Gardens: Burle Marx and Bawa with talk by Isabela Ono, Director of Instituto Burle Marx Rio de Janeiro and Shayari de Silva, Chief Curator, Geoffrey Bawa Trust.

BBQ Night | 6 p.m – -9 p.m
Enjoy a BBQ feast at Lunuganga Gardens

Star Party | 9 p.m – 2 a.m
Join the Young Astronomers Club to experience Lunuganga aurally at night with poetry readings by Dr. Kasro Ponnuthurai, Phusathi Liyanaarachchi and Sandali Kandambi.

SUNDAY, JULY 23 (BENTOTA)

Hog Deer Excursion | 6.30 a.m – 8 a.m
Join on an excursion to take boats to Honduwa island to see hog deer, guided by University of Jayewardenapura researcher, Vimukthi Fernando

Bentota River Mangrove Boat Tours | 8.30 a.m – 5. Pm
Join Cinnamon Nature Trails, Cinnamon Bentota Beach on a boat tour of the Bentota river mangroves.

Tour: Boutique 87, Lunuganga, Number 5 Ena de Silva house | 10 a.m – 1 p.m
Join these tours conducted by Geoffrey Bawa Trust Chairperson Channa and Architect Amila de Mel.

Heritance Ayurveda, Brief Garden | 1 p.m – 4 p.m

A Light Through Time Exhibit | 4 p.m – 5 p.m (Colombo)
Curatorial tour of A Light through Time Exhibition by Aneesha Mustachi at Number 11, Geoffrey Bawa’s
Colombo Residence.

For more information on “To Lunuganga” and for registration, visit lunuganga.garden