Ālōcanā: An Art Exhibition on Sri Lankan Christian Art Held at the University of Kelaniya

Ālōcanā, the art exhibition on “Witness Christian Art Through a Sri Lankan Lens,” was held at the Art Gallery of the University of Kelaniya on the 28th of January 2026. It was organized and conducted by the final year students pursuing BA Honors in Christian Culture at the Department of Western Classics and Christian Culture, University of Kelaniya. 

Facilitated by the Senior Lecturer Ms Krishani Perera, the students had worked over ten months to make the dream of staging the Art Exhibition for the benefit of the university community as well as teachers and students studying Art in general and Christian Art in particular. The primary objective of the exhibition was to showcase the unique fusion of Christian faith and Sri Lankan artistic traditions. The classical pieces of art by Mr David Paynter, Mr George Keyt, Ven. Hatigammana Uttarananda Thero, Rev. Fr. Priyantha Silva and were posted at the exhibition.

The Chief Guest, Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, graced the inaugural ceremony and thanked Rev. Dr Roshan Fernando, the Head of the Department and the staff and the students of the Department of Western Classical Culture and Christian Culture for organizing the event. 

In preparation for the exhibition, an art competition was held for the purpose of engaging artists in the event. The certificates were awarded to the winners of the competition at the inaugural ceremony.

The art exhibition is one of the activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Christian Culture Studies at the University of Kelaniya. The subject was introduced to the University in 1976. 

Among those who viewed the exhibition were the Buddhist and Christian clergy, staff and the students at the University, over 300 students studying for GCE (A/L) examination and their teachers. The exhibition is also considered as another crucial step of the University of Kelaniya in disseminating knowledge to the wider community.