HNB PLC has partnered with premier Sri Lankan art platform ‘ARTRA’ to offer members of its private banking arm, The Club HNB, opportunities to invest in and support the artwork of Sri Lankan creators.
The Club HNB is an exclusive, invitation-only circle whose members have access to a gamut of advisory services. In addition to supporting local creators, the bank’s partnership with ARTRA is also designed to expand and diversify the portfolios of The Club HNB members. HNB Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Dilshan Rodrigo also participated in the curated session held exclusively for members.
“HNB enables its Club members to turn a deep appreciation for art into an investment and an asset. ARTRA’s experienced team of consultants will provide The Club’s art enthusiasts with holistic advisory services so members can add to fine art collections and eventually pass down their legacy to a new generation,” Head of The Club HNB, Michelle de Silva, stated.
Through their work with leading local and international art festivals, embassies, and cultural partners, ARTRA will curate refined thematic content for Club members. This will include access to ARTRA’s recently launched Canvas platform, which will enable members to select from and invest in the work of artists from all 9 Sri Lankan provinces.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ARTRA Magazine, Azara Jaleel, expressed gratitude to the bank and HNB Club members for their patronage of the small but vibrant and flourishing Sri Lankan artistic community.
“When you invest in art, you’re investing in heritage, in culture, and in the unique identity of Sri Lanka. While there is of course a financial benefit to be made from investing in art, your patronage is also powerful in supporting an emerging generation of creators, thereby enriching the cultural fabric of our nation. The benevolence of the members at The Club HNB is helping ARTRA build a cultural economy,” commented Jaleel.
ARTRA promotes contemporary artistic expression in multiple forms, including visual, performance, written, and culinary art. ARTRA will feature celebrated art personalities at HNB Club curated discussions to further create a stimulating and holistic aesthetic experience for members.
Each quarter, a new design from the ARTRA Canvas collection will be prominently displayed at the Club premises. As a result of the HNB and ARTRA partnership, artists and creators will be able to achieve a level of recognition and exposure which might not otherwise have been available to them in Sri Lanka.
About HNB
With 252 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most technologically innovative banks having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. The bank has continuously won prestigious accolades including being declared Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka for 2020 by the Asian Banker Magazine for the eleventh occasion in addition to being highest ranked privately-owned commercial bank in Sri Lanka by the prestigious Banker Magazine Top 1000 global rankings 2020.Locally, HNB leads the Business Today Top 10 rankings and also claimed seven awards at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2019. The first Sri Lankan bank to obtain an international credit rating, HNB is rated on par with the sovereign by Moody’s Investors Service, and the national long term rating of HNB was revised upward by two notches to AA+ (lka) recently by Fitch Ratings (Lanka) Ltd.