Sri Lankan Duo Supporting a Worthy Venture When grieving mother Daniela Weber wrote a poem and used it as a tool to help her six-year-old son understand and deal with the pain of loosing a sibling, it was her dream to write a book based on this poem in order to help grieving children navigate the long road to recovery from grief and personal loss. Daniela’s dream became a reality when the Sri Lankan born mother daughter duo, award winning young artist Dilara Niriella and publisher  Sharmila J Niriella came on board to support her. The idea for the book came about when Daniela lost  her only daughter in 2017 at 20 weeks gestation to Dandy Walker Syndrome which results in malformation and poor development of the main parts of the brain. The book which is both Daniela’s contribution to grieving families and a legacy to her baby daughter Aura-Rose, ...

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Another Win for a Young Sri Lankan Born Artist – Dilara Niriella Dilara Niriella, a Sri Lankan born artist residing in Sydney, grabbed the first prize – tertiary at the Mosman Youth Art Competition 2018 held on the 17th of March at the Mosman Art gallery, Sydney. The Mosman Youth Art Award is a popular competition with over 500 entries received annually. Young artists aged between 12 – 21 submit artworks in a variety of media. The internationally renowned artist Ken Done AM initiated this prestigious art prize in 1988. Ken returned as a judge for the competition which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Presenting Dilara with the winning prize, Ken stated he was absolutely mesmerized by how she had captured a true likeliness of her subject who incidentally is her father, Anupa Niriella. The work named “Sorry to interrupt…” depicts Dilara’s father at work at a surgeon’s table. The ...

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Dilara Niriella –  Young Archibald Winner for 2016 Dilara Niriella a Sri Lankan born young artist was announced the winner of  Young Archibald 2016 at a ceremony held at the Art Gallery of NSW on the 17th of October. Her painting of her father will be exhibited at the art gallery till the 9th of October 2016. ...

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Dilara Niriella – finalist in the Young-Archie art competition Dilara Niriella, a young Sri Lankan born artist from Sydney, has grabbed a spot as a finalist in the Young- Archie art competition this year. Dilara’s entry, a portrait of her father Dasmin Anupa Niriella, was chosen as a finalist from over 2500 entries based on technique and originality. The young Archie art competition which is a part of the family-focused activities for the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2016 Exhibition was organized by the Art Gallery of NSW and judged by artist Del Kathryn Barton, Archibald Prize winner in 2008 and 2013, and Victoria Collings, the Gallery’s senior coordinator of education and family programs. Dilara, who migrated to Australia at a tender age, has studied art under the tutelage of artists such as Elena Parashko and Jane Blatchford. Her love for art grew with the encouragement of her family and ...

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