SLDF 2025: Discovering Colombo through design, creativity and storytelling

Original article | Published: 09 Nov 2025 | By Shannon Salgado, The Sunday Times

It’s the question that the Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) has been asking – not just of designers and artists, but of everyone who calls this city home or has passed through its streets and stories. Because Colombo isn’t just one city; it’s many, each layered with its own rhythm, memory and meaning.

For too long, people have passed through Colombo without really seeing it, perhaps because even we, who live within it, haven’t yet found the words to describe it. This November, SLDF 2025 invites us to look again, to rediscover our city through design, creativity and the simple act of storytelling.

Now in its 16th edition and conceptualised and presented by the Academy of Design (AOD), this year’s festival expands beyond its traditional format to become a citywide movement, one that positions Colombo as South Asia’s next world-class creative capital.

At its heart lies a simple but powerful idea: that Colombo is best understood through the stories of its people. The “What’s Your Colombo?” campaign began as a user-generated storytelling initiative, inviting citizens, creatives, and visitors to express their connection to the city through photographs, videos, illustrations, or words.

The response has been extraordinary – a mosaic of memories and perspectives revealing the city’s many faces: from bustling markets and heritage architecture to quiet seaside moments and contemporary design studios.

For artist and environmentalist Anoma Wijewardene, Colombo’s magic lies in its ability to balance calm and energy. “My Colombo really is the spaces that I can find that are quiet in it, that I can escape into quietly,” she says. “Colombo means different things to different people and at different times in their lives. For me, it’s nature and creativity that really enthuse me.”

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