Ranil de Silva – Managing Director, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc.

Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. (LBSI), the local office of the global advertising network Leo Burnett Worldwide, will launch the seventh season of Leo Art titled ‘Strokes at the Mews’ on 5 August 2016, at the Park Street Mews. The exhibition will continue on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 August from 10.00 a.m. onwards. The launch of the exhibition will coincide with Leo Burnett Worldwide’s 81st anniversary and to celebrate the occasion, the agency decided to give back to the creative community by hosting the latest edition of Leo Art at the Park Street Mews.    

Leo Art is an artists-in-residence programme, which provides young Sri Lankan artists with a space to express their creative ideas. These artists also have the opportunity to collaborate with agency teams on commercial projects, so their work can be seen and appreciated by larger audience across the country. This year, the programme will showcase the latest collections ofwork from 17 Sri Lankan artists who will be displaying a total of 70 breathtaking works of art throughout the duration of the exhibition. 

Artists who will be featured include Sanjeewa Kumara, J.C. Ratnayake, Prageeth Rathnayake, Susil Senanayake, Vimukthi Sahanand Vikum Bandara along with many other artists. J.C. Ratnayake has been a part of the Leo Art initiative since its inception and is an award-winning artist who is renowned for his paintings of landscapes and his portrayals of Sri Lanka’s natural beauty. Also participating in the exhibition once again, Vikum Bandara will share his distinctive paintings with a modern twist that have often been hailed as a breath of fresh air and Sahan Vimukthi will showcase his visionary abstract paintings, which have been exhibited in galleries around the world. 

Commenting on this edition of Leo Art titled ‘Stroke at the Mews’, Ranil de Silva – Managing Director, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc., said: “As Leo Burnett Worldwide celebrates 81 years of creative leadership this year, we would like to give back to the creative community by honouring the immense creative talent in our country. Leo Art started as an annual initiative, which we hosted at the quadrangle of our own office. After 7 years, we are having a bigger exhibition featuring a rich diversity of Sri Lankan artists. At Leo Burnett, we believe in fostering creativity in all of its varied and diverse forms. We have a long-standing history of driving and inspiring creative excellence and we do this, not only to improve our work, but also for the benefit of our clients and the local community.Not only has the exhibition grown, we also have an exciting new venue to host the event. This initial event could result in future collaborations between Leo Art and the Park Street Mews. In this regards to this, I’d like to acknowledge the support of Tasneem Jafferjee who has provided us with the perfect venue for this year’s exhibition of Leo Art.”

He further added: “I hope that ‘Strokes at the Mews’ will serve as a unique platform for these talented artists whose work we are showcasing today. I also hope that it will support their overall growth and their efforts to build their individual careers as artists.”

This year Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. celebrates its 17th anniversary in Sri Lanka. Over the years, the agency has built many powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, whilst delivering gratifying results and gaining industry recognition in Sri Lanka, the region and globally. The company handles a diverse portfolio of clients; it is one of the world’s largest agency networks and is a member of the PublicisGroupe, the world’s fourth largest communications company.