The Jeweled Isle – Art from Sri Lanka; the seven months long most comprehensive and professionally arranged Sri Lankan Art Exhibition was officially launched at the Resnick Pavilion, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on the evening of 05 December 2018, with lot of glamour.
The launching included two major events; a media preview followed by an official luncheon from 10.00 a.m. to noon and the premiere launching ceremony from 6.00 – 8.00 p.m. for the exhibition donors, patrons and philanthropies who are shouldering this first ever historical Sri Lankan event in this part of the world.
The evening launching was attended by about 300 Special Guests representing US Government Agencies, Western State Governments, Foreign Diplomats, Business Entrepreneurs and the Sri Lankan community.
During the Press Preview, the LACMA Director Michael Govan, Curator Dr. Robert Brown, South & Southeast Asian Art and leading Prof. of University of California, Dr. Tushara Bindu Gude, Associate Curator, South & Southeast Asia addressed the press and the guests. They said that firstly, the LACMA’s objective was to highlight the great beauty and complexity of Sri Lankan art and culture and secondly, to re-position Sri Lanka and its art within the broader ocean-faring world in which the island served for so long as a center for the flow of people, ideas, and goods both to and from its west and its east.
Mrs. Swarna Gunaratne, Sri Lanka Consul General to the 11 Western States of the USA, addressing the gathering expressed her gratitude, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan community living in the USA to the LACMA professional team who were behind realizing this memorable Exhibition. The Consul General in her remarks stated that “The Jeweled Isle” will be the most acclaimed Sri Lanka art exhibition being ever held in this part of the world.
The LACMA is the largest and the most acclaimed in the Western USA and its annual visitation is about 1.5 million. “The Jeweled Isle” is expected to be viewed by over a million visitors during the seven months long period from now on. The exhibition is expected to be end in June 23, 2019.
At the premier launching, the Consulate General also arranged to distribute “Ceylon Tea” gift packets sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, providing a wider exposure to the high quality and healthy beverage among the special invitees attended.
