Art Today, Nirmala De Alwis

Nirmala De Alwis held her first solo exhibition in 1988 at the National Art Gallery, Colombo. In order to develop her technique and master different media she entered the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore and followed a 3 year diploma course. In Singapore, she participated in the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1992 and the Asia Pacific Art Exhibition the same year. Her work was displayed in galleries in Singapore, and she also did graphic and design work for the Singapore Zoological Gardens and NTUC Pasir Ris Resort.

She held her second solo exhibition “Drawn to the Wild” in 1994. Her papier mache work titled ‘Rajah’ was placed in the category of ‘ Highly Commended’ at the 107th exhibition of the Ceylon Society of Arts.

She held her 3rd Solo exhibition at the invitation of the Alliance Francaise in 1997. She has participated in all exhibitions organized by the George Keyt Foundation since July 1996, and participated in the first International Artists’ Camp and exhibition. She was invited to participate in the exhibition commemorating 50 years of Sri Lankan Independence in May 1998 organized by Ceylon Society of Arts.

At present, she maintains an art gallery called ‘Vana-ra’ in Mt. Lavinia that is devoted to ‘nature and wildlife’ which her art often tries to capture.