Marigold Creation blossoms in Avissawella: A new sanctuary for learning, Art and community

Avissawella's quiet lanes, brushed by the cool breath of the Wet Zone Botanic Garden, witnessed a new kind of flowering recently — one not of petals, but of people, stories and ideas.

- BY IFHAM NIZAM

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Marigold Creation, a multidisciplinary educational and creative centre, opened its doors with an intimate artist talk that set the tone for what promises to be one of the region's most transformative community hubs.

The space — part gallery, part studio, part learning centre — was inaugurated with a deeply reflective conversation featuring celebrated poet Ajana Ranagala, whose lyrical work Ape Aha Koheda Lily Mal framed the afternoon in tenderness and introspection. The crowd, a mix of students, academics, artists and villagers, gathered not just to listen, but to take part in a dialogue that roamed freely across poetry, memory, language, identity and the quiet urgencies of life.

For Waruni Anuruddhika Chandrasena, the founder of Marigold Creation, the event was a dream come true at its first sunrise. A filmmaker, researcher and multimedia lecturer with years of work in peacebuilding, visual culture and community empowerment, she describes Marigold Creation as “a seed nurtured over many years — shaped by people, place and purpose.”

“This space is rooted in the idea of an ecology of education,” Waruni told