CREATIVE PRODUCER

2002 • Hikkaduwa Parade

I had been travelling to Sri Lanka since 1991 and in 1998 had bought a small guesthouse called Sunbeach in Hikkaduwa. I was fascinated by the local culture and saw an opportunity to create a collaboration.

In 2002, I brought artists from Bradford and Scotland to Hikkaduwa and, working with Sri Lankan artists and performers and 800 school children, we created a parade. Elements of this parade and the Sri Lankan artist Prasantha came to Scotland and we presented a parade for the Bradford Mela and Glasgow’s Merchant City Festival.