2024 SSSHARC/HRC Fellowship in Creative Practice

Hot off the footsteps of Professor Jean McNeil’s inspiring fellowship in 2023, the 2024 SSSHARC/HRC Fellowship in Creative Practice for 2024 has been awarded to Dr Visakesa Chandrasekaram.

Dr Visakesa Chandrasekaram is a lawyer, academic and an artist. He has made three feature films – Sayapethi Kusuma (Frangipani), Paangshu (Earth) and Munnnel (Sand) which won many local and international awards including the 2023 Tiger Jury Award for Munnel. He has published two novels – Tigers Don’t Confess and The King and the Assassin. He has written and directed several stage plays including Forbidden Area, which won the Gratiean Prize. Visakesa has worked in Sri Lanka as a human rights lawyer and in Australia as a consultant to the NSW Government. He received a doctorate from the Australian National University for his research on the use of confessionary evidence under counter-terrorism laws. He currently works as a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo.

This fellowship supports one creative practice scholar or practitioner every year to spend time collaborating with colleagues at the Sydney Social Sciences and Humanities Advanced Research Centre, University of Sydney, and the HRC where they divide their time.