Editor's Note

from Eshantha Peiris

‘The time when music could change the world is past’, claims 62-yr-old songwriter Neil Young, an artist notorious for his outspoken political commentary. He just might have a point: while us members of the internet generation do process a lot more artistic information than our parents did when coming of age, we’re also a lot less to hit the streets for our beliefs (as opposed to the 70s’ idealistic revolutionaries responsible for e.g. the anti-Vietnam-war protests in the US, and the Southern insurgency in Sri Lanka).

Then why start a newsletter dedicated to the social implications of current Sri Lankan Arts? In today’s post-cease-fire environment, where much of the foreseeable future seems beyond the control of the average citizen, we like to think of this project as an opportunity to explore alternative outlets of social expression, and as a forum to investigate the idea that art can be more than just an entertainment-driven consumer-product. As part of this discussion, we welcome your thoughts and feedback at info.slasc@gmail.com and hope you will consider contributing to our next issue in October.

The articles featured in this inaugural issue of ‘The Art of Social Change’ in many ways sum up the goals of the publication. Lindsay Aveilhe’s overview of activist visual art provides us with global historical precedents for socially-conscious creativity, Lakmini Cooray’s and Jim Sykes’ interviews offer first-hand accounts of the efforts made and the obstacles faced by Sri Lankan theater-for-change, Sachini Perera’s report on the under-exposed local rock-music scene questions societal biases that stifle thought-provoking voices, while my own critique challenges the local hiphop industry to embrace some of its social responsibilities.
So, if something in this issue inspires you to go out there and make a difference, or spark a new wave of creativity, or simply initiate a conversation about the potential of the arts for social advocacy, well, I’d say we’re both off to a good start…