LIONEL WENDT CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

The Lionel Wendt Centre for the Arts was built in memory of Lionel Wendt, a pivotal figure in the art scene of the 1930-40s who pioneered a movement that gave rise to, what is considered today as modern and contemporary art – both visual and performing, in Sri Lanka. His residence Alborado, where the Lionel Wendt Centre now stands, had been a home for the arts. The Centre at present houses The Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, The Harold Peiris Gallery and The Lionel Wendt Theatre. Encompassing a theatre for concerts, recitals, drama and dance performances and spaces for exhibitions of painting, sculpture and installations, and for training and workshop programmes in the arts, it is the only multi-purpose cultural centre of Colombo. The memorial centre in time became a place where the village came to town, and where the east meets west. Established in the 1950s the Centre continues to be a “platform” in every sense of the word for many people of the arts and source of fun and entertainment for many more.