An autonomous arts organisation based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Theertha International Artists’ Collective was founded in 2000 by a group of eleven artists associated with the 90s Trend, including Jagath Weerasinghe, Anoli Perera and Pradeep Chandrasiri. Theertha’s projects reflect the movement’s political consciousness, anti-establishment stance and recognition of underrepresented voices. They also include grassroots-level art education and international collaborations. It is an artist-run, not-for-profit organisation.

The 1990s in Sri Lanka saw fresh impetus in art education and practice, with the establishment of the alternative art school Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (1993) and spaces such as the Heritage Gallery and 706 Gallery Colombo (now Barefoot Gallery Colombo) that would display experimental contemporary art. The 90s Trend, as it came to be known, fostered new artistic approaches and mediums that responded to the sociopolitical realities and needs of Sri Lanka at the time. Theertha was conceived from this movement, originally to host international artist workshops in the country.

Around this time other artist collectives were similarly emerging in South Asia, such as Khoj International Artists’ Association, New Delhi (1997); Britto Arts Trust, Dhaka (2002); Vasl Artists’ Association, Karachi (2002); and Sutra Art Foundation, Kathmandu (2005). All of these, including Theertha, were set up in partnership with the UK-based arts organisation Triangle Network as platforms for diverse, global artistic exchanges and support, while being geographically rooted and autonomous. In 2004, led by Khoj, they formed the South Asian Network for the Arts (SANA). As part of SANA, they received support from the Ford Foundation until 2011 to create opportunities for artist interactions and movement across these regions through workshops, residencies and annual meetings. Theertha has also received significant support from Hivos as part of the latter’s Arts Collaboratory programme in collaboration with the DOEN Foundation. 

At the time of founding, Theertha’s goal was to provide a space for diverse, politically conscious experimental art in Sri Lanka, particularly for artists from non-elite backgrounds, much like the founders themselves. While many of the founding members — including Weerasinghe, Chandrasiri, Koralegedara Pushpakumara, Bandu Manamperi, Pala Pothupitiya and Sarath Kumarasiri — studied at the colonial-era Institute of Aesthetic Studies (IAS, known today as the University of the Visual and Performing Arts), they came from rural backgrounds and had faced or witnessed the violence of the Civil War. Politically active since their student years, they shaped Theertha’s anti-discrimination policy and commitment to integrate diverse voices, in opposition to the ethnic, religious and political divisions rife in the country. Theertha’s activities towards creating greater access and visibility for young, emerging artists — aligned with the radical ideas of the 90s Trend — initially evoked resistance from the Colombo-centred elitist art world that had predominated Sri Lankan art up to that point. 

One of Theertha’s major early events was an exhibition titled Aham-Puram (‘Inside-Outside’) at the Jaffna Public Library in 2004. Once an intellectual centre for Sri Lankan Tamils in the war-torn city, the library was burned down by a Sinhala mob in 1981; the rebuilt library was chosen for its symbolic importance and the exhibition held during a brief period of ceasefire. Organised in collaboration with SETHU Study Site for Visual Culture, it centred on the theme of war, with paintings and installations largely by artists from southern Sri Lanka, as well as more popular figures like Thenuwara. Theertha has also focused on providing support and visibility to women artists. In 2000, Perera curated an exhibition titled Reclaiming Histories: Retrospective Exhibition of Women’s Art, showcasing works of fifty Sri Lankan women artists in the wake of the 90s Trend. During 2005–08, the Women Artists’ Colloquiums and the International Women Artists’ Residencies emerged as a result of Theertha’s programmes geared towards encouraging recent art school graduates to continue their practice. In 2007, Theertha established its own gallery space, Red Dot Gallery, in Colombo. Between 2017 and 2022, Theertha also organised four editions of Theertha Performance Platform, a space for performance artists from around the world.

Between 2010 and 2013, Theertha and 1Shanthiroad, India, collaborated on the Sethusamudram Project for cultural exchange and discussion through residencies in Sri Lanka to Indian artists. In 2015, artists from Theertha collaborated with Gallery Espace and the Serendipity Arts Trust in New Delhi on a project titled A Tale of Two Cities exploring Varanasi in India and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, both historically and mythologically significant cities. The works produced were exhibited at the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa, in 2016; the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, and the Red Dot Gallery in 2017. Theertha has also collaborated with the Lahore Biennale Foundation and the Colombo Art Biennale. 

Theertha has been actively working to democratise art education and create an art literate audience. Artists from Theertha are involved in developing arts education programmes that they conduct for free in schools across the country, while also working with state education departments to train art teachers at the school level. Under the Ape Gama (‘Our Village’) project (2009–13), the organisation worked with school children and teachers in Horapawita, Maradana and Gampaha in southern and western Sri Lanka. Children were asked to paint unique places in their village in an effort to promote cultural cartography and the documentation of personal memory as part of their collective heritage. The works were later displayed at the Barefoot Gallery Colombo in 2013. The organisation also publishes journals in Sinhala, Tamil and English towards promoting alternative arts education, such as Patitha in Sinhala, Panuwal in Tamil, Artlab in Sinhala and Tamil and South Asia Journal for Culture in English.