Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activations 2024 Presentation — Performing Coloniality: The Socio–Cultural Mindset and Sex/Work by Radhika Hettiarachchi

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Synopsis

Sex work occupies a complex, contested, and ambiguous space of “liberation” for women in Sri Lanka. It simultaneously allows for a lucrative livelihood, while still being criminalised. This liminal space where moral and legal values are applied to sex work arbitrarily also challenges the safety and security of women who are vulnerable to gender-based sexual violence because of their “work”. The retention of colonial era laws and values with nationalist gusto by those with vested interest is a curious yet pervasive double-standard in today’s socio-political reality. In this presentation documenting lived experiences in Sri Lanka, Radhika explores how ‘performing coloniality’ impacts the everyday lives of women sex workers today.

About Radhika Hettiarachchi

Radhika is a public historian, researcher, and peacebuilding practitioner with nearly 20 years of experience. She works through art, oral history, and facilitates public discourse on issues of gender, security, history, justice, and sustainable peace. She is the co-founder of the “Herstories Project”, “The Community Memorialisation Project”, and is presently documenting women’s histories of sex work during conflict. As a curator, she curated the first iteration of travelling history museum, “It’s About Time”, as well as for Colomboscope (2014, 2015), the multi-country exhibition of marginalised histories “Shared Journeys” (2020) for International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, and created exhibitions to share conflict histories through multiple perspectives.