Past exhibitions

Climate Positive
Presented by the Creative Catalyst Fellowship

What does it mean to dream of a climate-positive future, especially from an island nation facing ecological fragility and economic flux? Climate Positive is not just an exhibition; it is a convergence. A living, breathing manifestation of what becomes possible when creatives step into their power as catalysts, collaborators, and stewards of transformation.

This exhibition emerges from the Creative Catalyst Fellowship (CCF), launched in June 2024, not simply to support individual artists, but to spark bold, collective inquiry across disciplines. A year ago, ten creative practitioners from across Sri Lanka came together for a two-week deep immersion alongside scientists, conservationists, and systems thinkers. What followed was a seven-month mentorship journey, guiding them through research and refining their creative expressions. The result is a body of work, diverse in form, yet united in spirit, that dares to ask: How might we not only sustain our environment, but regenerate it? And how do we bridge the personal, the socio-economic, and the planetary in the process?

In this space, you will encounter creative expressions shaped not in isolation but through connection, with each other, with ancient forests, with forgotten species, with stories of place, and with the quiet clarity that arises in stillness. You will feel the impact of walking through Kaludiya Pokuna forest with leading biologists, of sitting in dialogue with conservation scientists, of working hands on with communities in unheard parts of the island, and of rediscovering the self through shared vulnerability and curiosity. These experiences, grounded in science, storytelling, and lived emotion, are transmuted into works that invite you to pause, reflect, and perhaps shift, however subtly, in your own orientation to the world.

The Creative Catalyst Fellowship is intentionally not institutionalized because the challenges we face demand more than tradition and the known. We built intersections where silos used to stand, knowing that real, lasting change is born at the crossroads of disciplines, perspectives, and lived experiences. This is where creatives, scientists, and citizens meet, not simply to critique what’s broken, but to unapologetically imagine and actively build the futures we need. We’re not here to preserve the status quo, we’re here to shift it.

As you engage with Climate Positive, we invite you to notice what stirs within.

What connections feel alive? What possibilities begin to emerge?

Because sometimes, the briefest of encounters can change everything.

Randhula de Silva
Program Director | Creative Catalyst Fellowship

The Barefoot Gallery Colombo is pleased to present Mother, Junglefowl and Scarecrow, a solo exhibition by Pathum Sameera. Through his storybook-like illustrations, Sameera (b. 1984, Galle) captures the important role women play in Southern Sri Lanka’s rural agricultural landscape.

Drawing from his own childhood and the pivotal role his mother played in raising him, Sameera explores the shifting dynamics of gender roles triggered by the migration of men in search of labour. He comments on how this in turn has shifted the narrative of the women, particularly mothers, who have stepped into dual roles of “man” and “woman” within the household and community.

Illustrated in charcoal and ink, as well as vibrant acrylics, these works evoke both melancholy and wonder. Through a childlike lens, Sameera honours the resilience of village women, portraying them as everyday heroes who are quietly reshaping the rhythms of rural life.

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EXHIBITIONS

Texture Matters

Climate Positive

Mindscapes: Dreams and Memories

Mother, Junglefowl & Scarecrow

A Flower Speaks

Sentinels

Of Mountains and Men

Design Migrations

Colombo Gallery: A Journey

Nihal Fernando: Journey and Legacy

Theatre of Serendib Birds

Stories Within Stories

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