The art fair kicks off at 8.00 am on Sunday, 22 January 2017 and will continue through the day, attracting thousands of visitors from various parts of Sri Lanka.
There are also the large numbers of resident and visiting expatriates, and tourists from around the world, who throng the event and purchase a variety of Sri Lankan art on offer, in a fun-filled ambiance of music and entertainment.
A fascinating and spell binding display of cultural entertainment takes centre stage from the time of the official ceremony at 5.00 pm into late evening.
Presented by The George Keyt Foundation in association with the John Keells Group, Kala Pola has over the past 24 years been a major cultural and tourist attraction.
Since its inception way back in 1993, it has drawn inspiration from similar open-air art fairs in Europe, especially the iconic and legendary Montmartre in Paris. Kala Pola has now evolved into a rich cultural event of its own and is today a long-awaited and not-to-be-missed event in Colombo’s annual cultural calendar.
Presented by The George Keyt Foundation, Kala Pola has continued to enjoy the generous patronage and dynamic partnership of the John Keells Group over the past 23 years under its corporate social responsibility programme which is committed to supporting the development and promotion of culture and the arts in Sri Lanka.
The George Keyt Foundation says that Kala Pola has played a very important role over the past two decades in creating a keen appreciation of art among the Sri Lankan public.
“The number of artists and visitors has grown dramatically and this year too we expect a record turnout.
While promoting the creation and appreciation of good art, Kala Pola is also a very good source of income for the artists.
We are once again thankful to the John Keells Group for its invaluable patronage and the tremendous source of strength it has been to us”, said Mr. Cedric de Silva, Chairman of The George Keyt Foundation.
Head of CSR John Keells Holdings PLC, Ms. Nadija Tambiah, said, “The benefit of Kala Pola to the Sri Lankan art community is two-fold, in that it allows a forum for the interaction and exchange of ideas between artists as well as allowing the art loving public an opportunity to sample the new and the old.
We are humbled that this fair has fulfilled John Keells Foundation’s vision of `Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow’ by launching the careers of several artists at national and international levels”.
The John Keells Foundation meanwhile continues to host Sri Lanka’s first and only corporate digital art gallery (www.srilankanartgallery.com) enabling Sri Lankan artists to showcase and sell their work throughout the year to local and foreign buyers.
As always, Kala Pola is free of charge and open to the public.
Now a top tourist attraction, it is expected to once again attract thousands of visitors from all parts of Sri Lanka and from different parts of the world to Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha on Sunday, 22nd January as they enjoy the art, the cultural entertainment and the infectious feeling of an arty summer art-fest right in the heart of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
