‘In Translation’
What does it mean to work across three languages for a museum of modern and contemporary art in Sri Lanka?
Finding the appropriate words and expressions for modern and contemporary art terms across English, Sinhala and Tamil requires thought and agreement. Who finds these words and how are they adapted and put into practice?
‘In Translation’ is a timely gathering of people who are championing trilingual work in the arts sector so that it can become more accessible and inclusive to Sri Lanka’s diverse language communities. Over the course of two days, artists, academics and poets will discuss a variety of issues related to translation.
As part of the ‘In Translation’ programme, the MMCA Sri Lanka has also commissioned Musicmatters to respond to the relationships between sound and the histories of language politics, policy and planning in Sri Lanka.
This programme is supported by the European Union and the Foundation for Arts Initiatives.
All events are virtual and will be hosted via Zoom.
Keynote
17 December 2021 4pm onwards
Guest Speaker: Dinithi Karunanayake
(Department of English, University of Colombo)
Moderated by Phusathi Liyanaarachchi, Museum Associate
‘Translation, Memory, Poetics’
17 December 2021 6pm onwards
P. Ahilan, Poet (Department of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna), Kanchuka Dharmasiri, Theatre Artist (Department of English, University of Peradeniya), and Geetha Sukumaran, Doctoral Candidate (Graduate Programme in Humanities, York University)
Moderated by Ruhanie Perera, Curator Education and Public Programmes
‘Language and Identity––From a Translator’s Perspective’
18 December 2021 10.30am onwards
Museum Associates
Moderated by Praveen Tilakaratne, Museum Associate
‘Finding the ‘Equal’ Word’
18 December 2021 6pm onwards
T. Sanaathanan (Department of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna) and Prasanna Ranabahu (Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology)
Moderated by Phusathi L
‘வாசல்/ එළිපත්ත/ Threshold’
17 and 18 December 2021 7pm onwards
A specially commissioned digital soundwork by Musicmatters
