Fundraiser for SpaceEKA Residency in Sri Lanka
Donation protected
About SpaceEKA:
SpaceEKA Residency is a newly established artists’ residency in Colombo. We are a group of artists from various artistic backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders. We bring
unspoken social, political and philosophical topics to the mainstream through our
artworks.
About the play:
"Once Upon a Time, I was Addicted to You" deals with the reality of female abuse/domestic violence, the resulting loss of identity, and finding a ritual to heal from it. It was first performed at the 2020 Dell’arte International School of Physical theatre Frame by Frame Theatre Festival in California, USA. The play was devised and acted by SpaceEka residential artists Veenadari Lakshika Jayakody and Jayampathi Guruge.
After the original production, we took a break to do some deep-dive research on the topic.
How funds will be used:
- Artistic compensation for all involved artists. Right now, the financial situation in Sri Lanka is worse than ever. Therefore, we struggle as artists to keep up and raise funds for any artistic work. These funds will allow us to sustain 10 artists for 2 months.
- Funding the SpaceEKA residency to support and host artists in residence throughout the creative process.
- Bringing in and compensating experts after the performance to talk about female abuse and how to prevent it.
- Covering travel costs to tour in rural areas.
- Covering food and per diem expenses for artists at rehearsals.
- Printing informational handouts for the audiences in 3 languages (Sinhala, Tamil, and English). These handouts will include resources for any potential victims of abuse.
Our goals:
With money raised, we hope to bring "Once Upon a Time, I was Addicted to You" on tour in both Sri Lanka. Our focus will be on developing the physical action of the piece, with minimal set and props to allow for easy touring.
We will be designing the play to be performed at any place at anytime, because we aim to bring the play into rural areas in Sri Lanka where people don’t have many facilities. Those communities face such challenges as illiteracy and language barriers, and live performance is one of the most effective ways to gather people and educate them. We believe that theatre is a tool that can attract people despite class, region or gender.
We also intend to perform for smaller audiences in these communities. This is because the play could prove an intense experience for some, so it would be important to give special attention to them and ensure we are taking care of our audience through discussions and resources after the performance.
What we believe:
As Sri Lankans, we see that it is women who bear the brunt of abuse, on top of which
they often get the blame for it as well. To make things worse, society makes sure the women keep hush about the incident that occurred to them.
"Once Upon a Time, I was Addicted to You" aims to bring awareness to the topic of
female abuse. What are the ways females get abused? By whom? What is the aftermath? Most importantly, what are the ways these women can be healed?
Throughout our play, we focus on a healing ritual for women who have gone through
such events.
At SpaceEka, we strongly believe that our artistic project will send the message to
society that women shouldn't be quiet about such abuse and there are various ways to
seek help such as organizations, helplines, educational centres, houses etc. We’ll also be talking about the strength that a woman has to have, to rebuild her life after such
dramatic events. Rather than tolerating or accepting violence in silence, we encourage
women to speak up and seek help through our artwork.
Organizer
Hannah Butson
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA