When speaking of art and culture, it is easy to dismiss it as superfluous excess that is a waste of time for a society that, in certain ways, has more important things yet to do. Even those who acknowledge its emotional value and historic importance disregard aesthetics as unproductive in comparison to more ‘productive’ pursuits like academics and even athletes. However, this is greatly devaluing the true importance the arts have not just for the individual but also the impact it has on a society. While this is true to some extent for Sri Lanka as a whole, this is especially egregious in Jaffna, where in a mad dash to be recognised for their true value, the arts are dismissed as a waste of time.
This attitude has begun to change, however, as art has begun gaining more and more traction in the country as a ‘national resource’ that improves society on an intrinsic level. Now, that the high speed motion of the world was brought down to a crawl by quarantine and restrictions, the newly created time and space allowed breathing room to establish the building blocks for real change later, once things start moving again.
Just one such instance is the establishment of a group of artists, the Jaffna Artistes & Creatives, by Thulasi Muttulingam, a journalist who spent years bringing to light social issues plaguing Northern Lanka. In a quick conversation with her, she explained to us the goals of the group and the state of art in the area.
In her words, Jaffna does not value art and creativity in its youth as a worthwhile pursuit, chastising any creative hobby in favour of more acceptable activities such as studying all the time, effectively curbing creativity. It is something she and many others there experience even now, as working adults, criticised for wasting their time. Thulasi theorises that this is because of “the collective anxiety of an insecure society that craves stability and security - and does not see it being achievable through artistic endeavour.”
Explanation
A sound explanation that is applicable to any societies that have undergone great adversity, as Jaffna has for decades. She explains that in response to that deep-seated insecurity, Jaffna feverishly encourages academic achievements over all else. While this has worked out greatly for some, producing many talents in STEM or STEMELE fields, Thulasi pointed out that this leaves out those who are not interested in that area. This attitude also neglects those very academic successes as even doctors, engineers, lawyers and others of their ilk still need creative outlets very much.
This sentiment was echoed by the talented Shugantha Paramanantham, a biological science graduate and teacher who makes handicrafts and ornaments in her spare time under the pseudonym Ananth Kirubai, a sentimental name she uses to mask her identity when sharing her incredible talent with the group. She recalled how she had always had a great interest in the arts but hid her hobbies from her parents for fear of getting into trouble.
Even now, she deplores the lack of support from locals who do not see value in her talent. This is in stark contrast to her time in Colombo, wherein she got many requests for her work, but she also said that nowadays things are a bit different and that she is getting more orders for her work than before.
This lack of support was also noted by Princy Niruba, who turned her hobby into a small online brand, ‘PrinHeart’, which she hopes to grow into a real career. She does not see a strong community for artists in Jaffna and is all the more impressed by those who still pursue it and even make a career out of it.
Princy used to be more involved in her hobby, selling her work to stores and bookstores but had to sacrifice that time in favour of a, as she calls it, "sit in one place" job for the sake of a steady income, a difficult choice that she is sure that most other artists would have had to make too. This group has been great for Princy, who until this point saw other similar Facebook groups as pointless but has seen real support from the Jaffna Artistes & Creatives group both in and out of it once she started posting there and as new as it is, is excited to see where it goes from here.
Besides those who have made a side career out of their hobby, the Jaffna Artistes & Creatives group supports and has support from full time and accomplished artists, like Pirunthajini Prabakaran, an extremely talented artist who has had her drawings and paintings in many celebrated exhibitions in not just Sri Lanka but internationally, having her work in art galleries in places like Pondicherry and Calcutta. She understands the need for exposure being the lifeblood of artists and has reached out in every way she can.
The Jaffna Artistes & Creatives group allows her to simultaneously get even more attention for her work while also helping the less experienced in realising their potentials.
A goal shared by an art student at the Jaffna University, Rebeca Robert, who said “This group gives opportunity to both the skilled and unskilled to expose their talents”, explaining how it would bring attention to hidden artists that would not get into the limelight otherwise.
As for who the group is truly for, Thulasi emphasised just how despite the Jaffna Artistes & Creatives title, she doesn’t wish to restrict access to only those in Jaffna and that it was only called such because the group will eventually have offline activities to create a real, strong artistic community in Jaffna, which she mentioned was missing till now due to the societal censure against the arts that she said earlier.
She also called attention to how by referring to the group with ‘Creatives’, how Thulasi, wanted to include and encourage any and all kinds of creativity, saying, “Creativity is not relegated to any one field.
Welcome to join
And as the founder who is not artistic but still identifies as creative, I wanted to make that clear - that anyone with any kind of creativity or aspiring creativity, is welcome to join.”
Thulasi said the group started out just as a way for artists to mentor and support each other, free from a disapproving society.
She said, “Some of us desperately need approval and appreciation for what we do to cancel out the constant censure we face - and we've bountifully received that in spades already through the online group -far beyond our wildest imagination. I feel blessed.” Now, faced with a lot of support and requests for purchasing these talented artists’ work, Thulasi hopes to create a platform for their members in the future to be able to safely and in some cases, anonymously, sell their work online. All this growth has started and is happening quickly, which will hopefully turn into something positive for everybody.
On its future, Thulasi said, “The group though has taken on a life of its own and is growing exponentially beyond my limited imagination for it - so I guess I'll just grow with it and see where it takes us. That after all, is what creativity is all about.”
