About
Yaka Villa is an artist-run space located in Mirissa, at the heart of one of the beach's first hotels. A former family home with colonial architecture, it takes its name from the figure of the Yaka: a demon summoned during healing rituals practiced in the Matara region. It was our father who named the hotel at its opening, invoking the Yaka as an act of defiance against the pressures of uniformity. The name was quickly changed, out of superstition.
Reactivated today in a context of hyper-tourism, Yaka Villa carries within its very architecture the layers of history: colonisation, tourism, globalisation. Conceived by members of the Sri Lankan diaspora, it welcomes local and international artists and stands as a non-commercial space at the heart of a landscape shaped by mass tourism.
Workshops, residencies, exhibitions, concerts, talks, Yaka Villa is a place for creation, research and exchange, open to everyone.