Colomboscope is pleased to announce the title, curatorial concept and visual identity for the ninth festival edition to…
Colomboscope is pleased to announce the title, curatorial concept and visual identity for the ninth festival edition to be held from 21 to 31 January 2026.
Rhythm Alliances is an exercise of attunement to the varied dispositions of rhythm—energizing, contrasting, haunting, recurring, turbulent, and imagined. Far more than a static exhibition, since experiencing rhythm-making is also an invitation for time travel, the acts in this edition assemble a communal score of creation, resistance and alliance-building. Together with around 50 artists, musicians, sonic practitioners, filmmakers, and cultural organizers, the festival programme will continue its pluriversal journey of developing visual, sound-based and choreographic productions and gatherings across freely accessible venues in Colombo.
This edition of Colomboscope draws on a range of vocabularies embodying rhythms of remembrance, dissent, and renewal. From the noise of a global order where hyper-consumption and war are rife, how may sonic counter-currents transmit the ingredients of struggles today, make paradoxical realities audible, echo in lifeways of migrant belonging, and resonate shared dreaming?
The visual identity for Rhythm Alliances centers on a radiating waveform motif, evoking the pulse of a drumbeat, the ripples of vibration, and the cyclical breath of oral tradition. Its dynamic, undulating form visually echoes the festival’s approach toward rhythm as a force of connection, memory, and resistance. The graphic design distills rhythm into form — a minimal yet potent signal of energy, collectivity, and sonic transmission.
The ninth edition of Colomboscope takes shape and form with the title Rhythm Alliances, conceived and curated by guest curator Hajra Haider Karrar with artistic director Natasha Ginwala and the festival team.
