It is laudable when corporates chose to produce and promote products of artistic significance that transcend functionality. We at ARTRA, whilst celebrating the triumphs of the local art fraternity, distinguish corporates who encompass profound creativity in their produce consequently, imparting a creative consciousness in the daily lives of many Sri Lankans. Artistically conscious personality and the spur of JAT Holdings, Richard Gunwardene, Director of Marketing enables business into a movement that impacts culture. JAT Holdings, our main partner for this edition is one such entity, fostering an artistically conscious lifestyle in the local home ware industry. Proving to be highly considerate of its sources of stimulus, JAT pioneers in the production and promotion of goods ranging from Petal Paints, Herman Miller and SEA that epitomize artistic living, design principles, conscious sustainability and art restoration in line with the cultural spirit of Sri Lanka.

JAT Holdings currently occupies a unique position in the social fabric of the island. It is the first company to have manufactured paint from the extracted remains of discarded flowers collected at Buddhist temples. JAT has effectively become a patron of the arts across many local cultures, situating a part in society that is simply beyond that of being a commercialized corporate entity. Jat’s latest innovation Petal Paint, is an inventive alternative supporting art restoration seeking to procreate a renewed aura of purity around material used in art. Richard Gunawardene, the Marketing Director of JAT Holdings states “Petal Paint will be particularly used for the restoration of temple murals celebrating Sri Lanka’s rich heritage of temple art, often found in the form of captivating wall murals in temple shrine rooms”. Religious sites, particularly Buddhist temples, are notorious for wastage created from the offerings of devotees. “Every ten minutes a batch of flowers are cleared, so we thought of recycling them through the ancient art of extracting color coupled with modern pigment extraction technology to create a one-of-a-kind paint . We’re giving the flowers a second life while also rejuvenating our treasured murals”.

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