The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (MMCA Sri Lanka) proudly announces that their exhibition ‘88 Acres: Watapuluwa Housing Scheme by Minnette De Silva’ is currently on view as part of the Thailand Biennale 2025: Eternal [Kalpa]. The exhibition was first curated by the MMCA Sri Lanka in 2023, and the current iteration has been curated by Sharmini Pereira, assisted by Thinal Sajeewa. ‘88 Acres’ will be on view until 30 April 2026 at the Phuket Contemporary Art Gallery in Phuket, Thailand.
‘88 Acres’ focuses on the Watapuluwa Housing Scheme in Kandy, designed by De Silva and opened in 1958. The Scheme heralded a new form of social housing in Sri Lanka, and was notably created with the participation of its users. ‘88 Acres’ explores how this sprawling hillside development was ahead of its time in providing affordable accommodation for a diverse ethno-religious community of government public servants in Sri Lanka. Alongside a specially commissioned artists’ film by Irushi Tennekoon (b. 1989), Sumedha Kelegama (b. 1988), and Sumudu Athukorala (b. 1980), ‘88 Acres’ looks back at the Scheme nearly 70 years later to consider De Silva’s influences and the challenges of her design approach.
Speaking about the curation of ‘88 Acres’ for the Thailand Biennale 2025, Thinal Sajeewa, Assistant Curator at the MMCA Sri Lanka noted that, “Curating the exhibition with Sharmini in conversation with David Teh, the co-Artistic Director for the Thailand Biennale 2025, required rethinking the show for a Thai audience and context.” He added that, “Unlike in 2023 when we exhibited it in Sri Lanka, this iteration considered local histories of housing and state-led development in Phuket, and what would be relevant to the local visitors.”
The Thailand Biennale is a national initiative to organise an international contemporary art exhibition in the form of a biennial, undertaken by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC), Ministry of Culture, Thailand. It was initiated in 2018 to decentralise contemporary art in Thailand and engage new audiences, revitalising and reimagining provincial destinations for visitors and locals alike. The third edition of the Thailand Biennale, titled ‘Eternal [Kalpa]’, has been curated by Arin Rungjang, David Teh, Hera Chan, and Marisa Phandharakrajadej.
‘88 Acres’ is the first exhibition by the MMCA Sri Lanka to travel internationally. Speaking of their collaboration with the MMCA Sri Lanka, David Teh said, “We are grateful for this partnership with MMCA Sri Lanka. The pioneers of Asian modernism are ironically better known in the old imperial centres than in neighbouring countries with deep cultural ties. We are thrilled to be sharing Minnette’s important legacy with our audience in Phuket, an island that linked South Asia to other worlds for a thousand years.”
Featuring 64 artists across 20 venues, Thailand Biennale 2025: Eternal [Kalpa] is an opportunity for visitors to experience new works of contemporary art from across the world and immerse themselves in the local culture in Phuket. More information about the biennale can be found at www.thailandbiennale.org. Information about the MMCA Sri Lanka, and its exhibitions and public programmes can be found via their website www.mmca-srilanka.org, or on Facebook at The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka and Instagram at @mmcasrilanka.