October 28, 2009 —

Prominent social worker and artist, Nanda Gunawardana, along with her students, have been hosting arts and crafts exhibitions for the past eight years in Auckland, New Zealand.

On October 10th of this year, another exhibition came to fore, full of colorful paintings and crafts created by Gunawardana herself and her students.  The event commenced with Judy Lawley, Councillor for Waitakere City Council New Lynn Ward, and other distinguished guests lighting the traditional oil lamp, which was followed by pirith chanting by local Buddhist monks.

Ven.Kottukachhiye Pannasiri Thero of Sri Lankaramaya, addressing the gathering, praised Gunawardana’s many years’ work devoted to the local Sri Lankan community, as well as to the Sri Lankaramaya temple.  The twenty-foot tall Wesak Thorana erected by the Sri Lankaramaya temple in Auckland – the first of its kind in New Zealand – was entirely designed and decorated with paintings done by Gunawardana.

Chief Guest, former Minister of Education, Hon. Chris Carter (MP for Te Atatu), spoke highly and admirably of Gunawardana’s widely respected work for both his electorate and for community organizations in Waitakere City.

Nanda Gunawardana was the winner of the 2001 Telecom Art Award.

To see photos from the event, visit the SLF Gallery.

Article and photos originally published on SriLankanz on October 10, 2009.

Click here to access the original article.

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