This year’s edition of Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF) continued the mission of being a platform for the country’s growing design activity in the areas of fashion manufacturing, contemporary craft design and interior design. Themed ‘Innovation Island’, SLDF 2018 furthered this mission by focusing on the economic and financial dynamics of design, merging the creative world with the commercial world that help designers nurture their skills and abilities to pursue careers with confidence and support. Talks and conferences, design exhibitions, retail experiences, shows and network building meet-and-greets between a ‘glo-cal’ creative community were included in an interesting festival schedule that engaged creative minds, businesses and brands with the general public invested in the power of design and innovation. The festival took place from the 9th to 11th of November at Trace Expert City, Colombo.

The Art and Design Talks, ‘Design Katha’ is a significant component of the festival each year, and this year’s conversations were curated by ARTRA. The topics for the panels and the speakers were chosen after much deliberation in igniting insightful conversation on the direction and sustenance of the art & design industries. The panel discussions were held on the 10th of November from 1pm to 6pm at Trace Expert City with the participation of esteemed art and design personalities spearheading the local creative industries.

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