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The Barefoot Gallery Colombo is a platform for artists, musicians, poets and filmmakers. It began as the Colombo Gallery in 1966 in a building designed for Barbara Sansoni by architect Ulrik Plesner. That space  closed in the early 1970's. The gallery space and adjoining courtyard are used in a variety of ways: exhibitions by local and visiting artists and photographers, workshops, concerts, poetry readings, film nights and theatre.

Nazreen Sansoni reopened our doors in 1991 as “Gallery 706 Colombo”. A salon-type atmosphere prevailed and Gallery 706 hosted several exhibitions in the 90’s by artists such as Anoli Perera, Anoma Wijewardene, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Jagath Weerasinghe, Kushan Majusri & Muhanned Cader. 

Three notable exhibitions were a retrospective by George Classen in 1993, an exhibition of works on paper by Ivan Peries and photographs by Lionel Wendt in 1996. They were all members of the '43 Group that was founded by Lionel Wendt in 1943. 

In 1999 came further expansion and the gallery moved into a new building, and the name changed to Barefoot Gallery Colombo. Artists that came on board and exhibited regularly with us are Alex Stewart, Channa Ekenayake, Druvinka Puri, Elizabeth Porter, Laki Senanayake, Mahen Chanmugum, Nelun Harasgama, Preethi Hapuwatte, Layla Gonaduwa, Chaminda Gamage, Thabendran Krishnapriya, Neville Weeraratne, Nalin Indrasena, Padrig Morin, Catharina Danial, Ponniyah Peter, Sanath Herath, Prasad Hettiarachchi and more.