About
“The I Am project has sat on my desktop browser for almost a decade. I use it as an inspiration for writing, as a procrastination when not writing, and as a place to go and simply listen.” — Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of The Booker Prize 2022
The I Am project is a collection of audio portraits focussing on the lives of Sri Lankan elders from across the country. The project captures the wisdom of elders — those that have been on the island the longest — collecting their narratives for future generations as compelling oral history. The project covers themes like reconciliation, conflict, faith, family and occupation. It ultimately seeks an answer to the question: what does it mean to be Sri Lankan? And discovers that it is not monolithic, but a diverse tapestry of many ethnicities, languages, faiths, beliefs and ways of life.
Some are famous, like Judge Weeramantry and Bala Tampoe, as well as ordinary Sri Lankans, like Veerakathy, a tobacco farmer from Jaffna, or Seenithamby, a fisherman from Batticoloa or Haniah, the history teacher from Galle. Many of those featured on the project have passed away since we spoke to them more than 10 years ago.
The I Am project was first launched in 2009 and now has had a reboot, with a new website and a new series of portraits, including elders from the diaspora, collected by young Sri Lankan artists. The sixty-six characters from the original series and the upcoming new portraits will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
The project has appeared at exhibitions in Sri Lanka, reviewed by the New York Times, and exhibited internationally at The Tetley and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Most recently, Shehan Karunatilaka mentioned the project in his Booker Prize winning book, The Seven Moons of Maali Ameida, as a source of inspiration for his writing.
We believe that by communicating the wisdom of elders to the next generation, there can be a greater understanding among communities in Sri Lanka and its diaspora, and help to build solidarity between them. It seeks to draw younger audiences to discover the experiences, hopes, fears and aspirations of our diverse communities and in doing so, change their perceptions and attitudes.
—The I Am Project
23 May 2023