The SAARC Painting Exhibition would be inaugurated in the presence of H.E. Shri E. Ahamed, Hon. Minister of State for External Affairs of India; Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Minister of Culture of Sri Lanka; and Ministers from SAARC countries attending the 31st Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers in Colombo at the National Art Gallery, 106 Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo-07, on 27 February 2009 at 6.00 p.m. Before coming to Sri Lanka, the exhibition had travelled to Kabul in September 2007 and to Kathmandu in December 2008.

The exhibition would remain open for public viewing between 10.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. from 28th February to 6th March 2009 and on 7th March from 10.30 a.m. to 12.00 noon. Featuring the works of reputed artists from SAARC countries, the exhibition consists of 24 paintings and one photograph. The collection came into being when the Indian Council for Cultural Relations brought together 25 leading artists from the SAARC member countries for an artists’ camp at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, from 14-23 January 2007, as part of the cultural activities for the 14th SAARC Summit. The works produced during the camp were presented for an exclusive viewing of the SAARC leaders during the Summit held in New Delhi in April 2007.

The works of eleven artists from India – Anupam Sud, Akhilesh, Anjana Mehra, Manish Pushkale, Gopi Gajwani, Jatin Das, Bandeep Singh, Manisha Gera Baswani, Shamshad, Yogendra Tripathi and S. Harshavardhana would be on display. The exhibition also showcases the works of two artists from Afghanistan, two from Bangladesh, four from Pakistan, one each from Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives and three from Sri Lanka, namely Anoma Wijewardene, Anup Vega and Jagath Raveendra.

From Colombo, the exhibition would proceed to Kandy, where the collection would be on display from 9-11 March 2009 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the E.L. Senanayake Children’s Library Hall. From Kandy, the exhibition would proceed to Dhaka, its next destination.