Sandeepa Vithanage (Sri Lanka)

Artist Presentation: 29th August 2023, Kathmandu University  / 31st August 2023, Pulchok Engineering College
Outcome exhibition: Sri-Lan-ka-thmandala, 10th to 12th September 2024, Patan Museum

Thilanka Sandeepa Vithanage, a chartered member of RIBA and a Chartered Architect with AIA[SL], holds an M.ARCH and B.ARCH from UWE. With a strong belief in the power of architecture and research combined with design thinking to bolster societies and positively impact the world, he specializes in designing for “predicted worst-case scenarios” and “dystopian scenarios.” Thilanka’s exploration of utopian theoretical frameworks as architectural solutions for contemporary and predicted dystopian situations has garnered recognition. He has received numerous awards, including “The Best Overall Performance Award” in SLIA part 2 exemption and the “Best Green Innovative Design” at the Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA) 2021. His academic journey is marked by excellence, highlighted by his status as valedictorian and various design awards. Thilanka Sandeepa Vithanage, born on March 10, 1991, in Sri Lanka, is a visionary architect dedicated to shaping a better future.

Melina Pena (Spain)

Durational participatory performance: Epigenes born after, 10th September, Patan Museum

Action/ Interdisciplinary Artist raised on both sides of the border Mexico-U.S.A. Currently based in Barcelona, Spain. Melina Peña has been in an extensive search of her own body language training in Butoh, Experimental Dance, Body Landscape and Performance Art. She holds a Masters Degree in Independent Studies Program (PEI) by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona (MACBA). Post-graduate Studies on Sensory Language and The Poetics of Play, directed by El Teatro de los Sentidos/ University of Girona, Spain. She doubled majored in Linguistics and World Arts & Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. In the past 20 years Melina has been consistently producing and exhibiting art, showing her work in places such as the Cerveira Biennale, PAN Pallazo Naples, Venice Biennale, Galerie Taïss and La Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris. Artistic residencies and giving workshops in Germany, Mexico, Portugal, Estonia, Macedonia, England and Spain. Working with artists such as La Pochanostra, Shu Lea, Thierry Geoffrey and continuously collaborating with artists from different disciplines. Currently her interests have mutated in the experimentation with other artistic means looking to generate stimulation and new forms of body language: Sound Art, Body Cartography, Installation and play through the Senses.