Shalini Ganendra’s impact on cultural development has been defined by over two decades of cultural engagement. Through programming, research, publication and commitment to inter-disciplinary feature, she has furthered recognition of, inter alia, distinct and longstanding creative practises of Sri Lanka and region.

Some notable projects include: five year, UNESCO Observatory endorsed Vision Culture Lectures; cultural non-profit national marquee, Gallery Weekend Kuala Lumpur; pioneering exhibitions of Sri Lankan modern and contemporary art in Kuala Lumpur, London, New York; and advising public and private sector entities on cultural outreach. She recently contributed two chapters on the craft practises of Sri Lanka and Terrenganu, Malaysia, in Educating in the Crafts, the Global Experience (Springer).

She has served on a number of cultural panels including of the: Sovereign Art Prize, HK; Caochangdi PhotoSpring Festival (Les Rencontres d’Arles Photography Festival), Beijing; Smithsonian Institution’s SARF (Smithsonian Artist Residency Fellowship); and the Commonwealth Foundation Art Awards. She was appointed to the Tate Gallery Acquisitions Committee (SAAC) in 2016 to advise on Sri Lankan art.

Shalini is Sri Lankan born. She read law at University of Cambridge, Trinity Hall and has a LL.M. from Columbia University Law School. She is a qualified Barrister (Lincoln’s Inn) and New York Attorney.

She is currently an Associated Academic of the Art History Dept and Research Associate, St. Catherine’s, Oxford University. Her inter-disciplinary research considers  ‘patterns of influence’ between early photographic images, related texts and their influence on the development of local identities and perspectives, referring to Ceylon/Sri Lanka as a case study. An exhibition for this project is planned at the Museum of Oxford, to open September 2022. E: sganendra@gmail.com