Join me for a Street Art Trail in Sri Lanka

Where can I buy local paintings in Sri Lanka?

 

This blog post of mine will answer this query. You will be surprised to know that Colombo has a very colorful street in the middle of the city. It is exclusively dedicated to art and the local artists of Sri Lanka. And as an art lover,  I just could not skip a visit to Nelum Pokuna Street.  It was a very important part of my itinerary despite of the fact that not many people know about it. It is located just next to the famous Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre. The art trail actually starts from the back gate of the National Museum also called the Sri Lanka National Museum. The paintings are mostly done on canvas and they represent the rich culture, wildlife and heritage of the country. One can see and meet the local artists who earn their living or pursue art as a part time job or passion. This is almost like an open air museum.

 

 

In addition to visiting this street, I was always on a lookout for interesting walls, where ever I could find. And I call myself lucky because I always end up finding something unique where ever I travel. Sri Lanka was no surprise. In fact, on the very first day of the trip, while passing through the Bambalapitiya station, I spotted a stretch of wall which was beautifully painted. Without wasting a minute, I got down and photographed it. The work of art spoke a lot about the local people, festivals, culture, wildlife and more. The colours that were used were very soft and subtle. Also, it seemed the paintings were made in a continuation and were depicting a folk tale. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was quite a lovely find of the first day. The moment you put some colours and creativity on a canvas, things change so drastically. I am really glad that the whole world is waking up to the idea of using its walls as canvas. 

 

 

Day 2

 

This wall inspired to travel the world. It had some of the prominent and famous architectures of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 
The next morning I found the the above wall art very close to the most popular and ancient temple of Colombo,  Gangaramaya Temple.  The temple is amazing and one should not miss it in Sri Lanka.  Just outside it when we decided to check out its neighborhood, my eyes fell on this very interesting wall. Some cars were parked in front of it but that dint deter me from taking pictures. 

 

 

Nelum Pokuna Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has to be one of the most creative streets of Colombo. All art lovers could be seen at one place. The government has allocated this stretch of pavement to help the passionate artists to showcase their work. It not only captures the life of the people on canvas but also helps the artists to reach out to the locals as well as travelers and earn money by selling their paintings. I think, this idea should be replicated in a lot of cities in India too. We also have a lot of local folk art and rather than it being scattered here and there, why not place it all around one street. 

 

 

Day 3 to Day 8

 

As I travelled to other parts of Sri Lanka, I found some more wall art. In fact, the school walls very interesting. They had lovely drawings to attract the kids and to signify that is a place where you become creative. I did a lot of road trips in Sri lanka and saw a lot of vibrant walls. Of course, I couldn’t click all of it because either the bus was moving too fast or I did not have the privilege of the window seat. I got lucky with some wall art in Nuwara Elliya as well as on my way to Wellawaya too. 
 

 

Galle fort is a historic beauty, a gem of a place and a very artistic place. It has lots to offer to art lovers. It is a hub of pretty cafes and boutique hotels and they have decked up their space with some cool wall art. 

 

 

I captured this while I was on board a bus. This looked like a school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has to be one of the most Instagrammble house in there (Galle fort area)

 

Happy traveling and happy exploring wall art. Do send me links of your social media platforms if you post wall art too.