User:Nehajain.skyrise/sandbox

Nisansala Karuntala is an artist, photographer and graphic designer based in Sri Lanka. Going by the adage that art is life and life is an art, she has been involved in numerous philanthropic projects, funding the cancer treatment of children via Cancer Care Asscociation (CCA) through her art. She has worked as a guest lecturer in various Universities.

Education
A student of Musaeus College, she completed her bachelor of fine arts from San Jose State University and her M.A in Buddhist Studies from Kelaniya University.

Early Life
Her parents who ran a printing press, Karunratne and Sons Printers, were a major source of inspiration for Nisansala. Recognizing her talent at an early age, her parents never disturbed her while she was painting. At the age of three and a half, her father's illness inspired her to paint for him, which greatly pleased her parents who encouraged her. As her father was a globetrotter, he would get her art supplies from his travels.

Casa Serena
Dreaming of owning her own art gallery, Nisansala had joked about it as a retirement plan with her professors at San Jose University. Although she helped her family with graphic design in the family business, she decided to keep an open mind. During the eight years spent in the U.S.A. for her education, she came across a forest monastery in San Francisco. Similar to Indian ashrams, the monks lived in Kutis and the lifestyle was austere in the green forest. The place was called Casa Serena where the concept of her eponymous gallery germinated. Trained in lighting techniques, hanging installations and mounting techniques, Nisansala was able to make this gallery an immersive experience drawing upon Art as a visual language. Today, the gallery hosts exhibitions with the added spaces of a bookshop and a boutique crafts store. She is devoted to initiating contemporary forms of dialogue on the Sri Lankan heritage, where art exists in diverse forms: as Goyam Kavi in farming, as temple paintings and as the Bali Thovil. It is located in front of the Police Park a colonial structure stands at No 22, Havelock Road, Colombo 5.

Philanthropy and Art Works
Nisansala has been associated with the Cancer Care Association founded by Dr. Rajpaksa to provide chemotherapy ports for children who are unable to afford them. She work under the AUBO children's chemotherapy port project, and donates all the money from the sale of her own works towards this cause. Some of her noted works are Ganga, Inle Lake, Rata and Arise.

References