Vandalism of Dutch Mural Art Project at Kathaluwa Viharaya

Vandalism of Dutch Mural Art Project at Kathaluwa Viharaya

As the invitation of Ven. Kalyanitissa Thera, the incumbent of Kathaluwa Giniwella Nawamuni Se Viharaya in Sri Lanka, three Dutch artists namely, Noëlla Roos, Rachel Dieraert and Eddy Roos carried out a mural art project at the temple with the guidance of local artists and experts (Liyanage, 2004; Roos, 2019; Seneviratne, 2004). The project was begun in 2002 when Kalyanitissa Thera prepared the way for more than 70 people to collaborate with it (Roos, 2019). The project was financially assisted by the Netherlands Embassy in Colombo (Liyanage, 2004; Roos, 2019; Seneviratne, 2004). Two temples at Kathaluwa Giniwella Nawamuni Se Purana Viharaya and Ranwella Purana Viharaya are two Buddhist temples situated adjacent to each other in Kathaluwa village in Galle District. Although there are two temples at the site today, initially there was only one temple, established around 1820. However, due to some issues that arose between two Buddhist sects, Amarapura Nikaya and Siyam Nikaya, it was divi…