Bio

Anupa Khemadasa is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompasses performance, visual arts, and community engagement. Her work draws inspiration from both Sri Lankan and Western creative traditions, reflecting her background in music and visual arts. Anupa collaborated with her father, renowned composer Premasiri Khemadasa, on various music, theatre, opera, and film projects in her hometown of Colombo, Sri Lanka, before moving to Prague, Czech Republic to study cybernetics.

In 2004, Anupa relocated to Toronto and began exploring community engaged practices, expanding her work to include audio-visual installations and participatory projects. She has exhibited and performed her work in Asia, Europe, Canada, and the US. 

Anupa was a touring musician with the Phoolan Devi Opera project, served as the Musical Director for the award-winning Sri Lankan film ‘Thanha, Rathi, Ranga,’ and co-founded the musical ensemble Tangled in 2016.

Anupa has also created / co-created several immersive installations for Toronto’s Nuit Blanche Festival. Row, Row, Row Your Boat (2023), Swing Low Sweet Chariot ( 2022),  ‘Buried Rivers’ (2019) and ‘Warm Up To Me’ (2017). Several of her exhibits have been featured in BlogTO’s top exhibits of the year.

Anupa serves on the Board of Directors for two arts organizations– Mammalian Diving Reflex  and Big Pond Small Fish Laboratory and  manages the Khemadasa Foundation, an institute established by her father to provide free music and visual arts education to underprivileged youth in Sri Lanka.