Jagath Weerasinghe

Jagath Weerasinghe (1954) is an archaeologist, artist and Chairman Theertha International Arts Collective, Sri Lanka. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Post-Graduate Institute of Archeology of the University of Kelaniya. As a he encourages a socially critical and socially involving approach to art.
Jagath Weerasinghe initial education in visual arts was acquired at the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka where in 1981 he graduated with a BFA degree. He received his MFA at the American University, Washington D.C., USA. Weerasinghe’s diverse interests allowed him to drift his attention to other related fields of art such as conservation of mural paintings. His some of his most significant exhibitions have been Anxiety (1992), Yanthra Gala and Round Pilgrimage (1997) which introduced possibilities of artistic manifestations that are reflective of broad political and social implications within a deeply personal context. He has been the main proponent who professed a new approach to art making which created an ideological shift in the art scene in the 1990s. Now popularly referred to as the 90s Art Trend, it encouraged a socially critical and socially involving approach to art. He has shown extensive internationally and in Sri Lanka. Presently a professor of Archeology, his interventions in heritage management has been widely recognized. He lives and works in Sri Lanka.