Nawi Samaraweera

In 2016, he was awarded at the "Kalabhooshana", National State Awards Ceremony for his special contribution to the development of the Arts, which was organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Sri Lanka.

In 1973, Samaraweera held his maiden solo exhibition at the Samudra Gallery Colombo. Ever since, he has held many successful solo exhibitions in various Art Galleries and Hotels including Alliance Francaise, Heritance Kandalama Hotel and Lighthouse Hotel. Therein, he went on to participate in various Art Exhibitions locally as well as internationally. Samaraweera has won many prizes from competitive Art Exhibitions. In 1988, his wooden sculpture "Kanya", which won a prize at National Paintings & Sculpture (Rajya Chitra Moorthi) Competition, was selected as a permanent display at the National Art Gallery of Sri Lanka.

In 1970, Samaraweera won his first special award for the sculpture "Abhayabhoomi", from the Ceylon Society of Arts. By 1971 Samaraweera was an active sculptor and graduated from the Government College of Fine Arts Colombo. In the same year, he won the first prize for the Sculpture "Bhikshuwa" at the exhibition of Contemporary Paintings and Sculptures organized for the first time by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Ceylon Society of Arts and by Cultural Council of Ceylon. In 1972, he joined the government service as a Specialized Arts Lecturer.

He was greatly influenced by his father who was well known for his wood carvings and by the rural village atmosphere he grew up in. Samaraweera entered the Government College of Fine Arts Colombo after secondary education in 1966 and won the Scholarship awarded for the "Best Student" of the college in 1967. In 1969, his dream of sculpting was inspired by the Sri Lankan sculptor Tissa Ranasingha.

Nawi Samaraweera is a Sri Lankan artist, born 26 July 1947 in Mapalana Kamburupitiya, Matara.