First Sri Lankan museum rebuilds image

The island nation of Sri Lanka suffered almost three devastating
decades of civil war.

Now, almost ten years after the end of the violence Sri Lankans are
still trying to rebuild their country's image.

As part of that, a Sri Lankan cultural museum, believed to be the only
one outside of Sri Lanka, has opened in New York City.

It's the brainchild of a Sri Lankan-American teenager whose love of
art cultivated a longing to show her parents' home country to the rest
of the world.

Nick Harper reports from the New York borough of Staten Island.

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TAKE VO
Julia Wijesinghe requested a rather unusual present for her 18th
birthday: a museum.
She became interested in collecting Sri Lankan art four years ago
during a summer visit to her grandmother's home.
Last year she paid for a 7 meter shipping container to bring her
collection back to America.
Her mission is to bring the heritage of her ancestral island nation to
New York's Staten Island, where she grew up.

SOT - Julia Wijesinghe, Sri Lankan Art and Cultural Museum, Curator
"Everyday I learn something different and I educate myself and then I
share it with everyone else that comes by."

TAKE VO
Staten Island is home to one of the world's largest Sri Lankan communities.
Like Sri Lanka, it's a mix of ethnicities and religions in the
northern part of this New York borough.
Tilan Munachainghe and Roshan Werasingh are visiting the museum for
the first time.

SOT - Tilan Munachainghe
"This is like the small Sri Lanka right here. When you come here - I
feel like I'm in Sri Lanka right now. When I see all these Sri Lanka
people, it just makes me happy."

SOT - Roshan Werasingh
"A lot of people don't know about the culture that makes our way of
life the way it is. And it's very unique to see something like this,
especially in our neighbourhood."

TAKE VO
The exhibition includes Vesmuhunu, or devil masks, for curing
illnesses. As well as musicals instruments and traditional wedding
outfits.
And an array of deities from the island's different religions.
TAKE VO
At its heart this museum will help to teach people about the rich
cultural heritage of Sri Lanka. But it may also help them to overcome
any negative preconceptions that have been caused by the country's
more troubled recent history.

TAKE VO
It's a cultutal museum and does not mentioned the more than 25-year
civil war, through the 80s, 90s and 2000s. But Julia hopes to help the
image of her homeland.

SOT - Julia Wijesinghe, Sri Lankan Art and Cultural Museum, Curator
"I wanted to bring back unity, because Sri Lanka is known to have
Tamil, Hinduism, Muslim, and Sinhalese so unity is a big idea for me
here as well."

TAKE VO
And that idea of inclusiveness spreads beyond the museum, with a
chance for visitors to take away part of it with them.
Julia now plans to run her museum between her university studies. And
find time for more trips and more collecting back in Sri Lanka.
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