Raki Nikahetiya (b. 1983, Kandy, Sri Lanka) works across traditional craft, photography, land art and scientific processes, exploring questions of identity, memory, and migration. Raised in Austria after leaving Sri Lanka during the civil war, and now based in Colombo with a migratory studio spanning New Delhi, London, and Vienna, his practice reflects a sustained engagement with displacement, ecology, and cultural continuity.
Before committing fully to his artistic path, Nikahetiya worked in international development with a focus on environmental conservation and sustainable development, including projects with the United Nations. This experience continues to inform his socially and ecologically attuned approach to art-making. He later studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, completing a foundation in fine art, where conceptual and material exploration shaped the basis of his current practice.
He is the co-founder and director of the sā Ladakh Biennale, a land art platform fostering site-specific, regenerative interventions at the intersection of ecology, culture, and community. Rooted in climate optimism and sustained by cross-generational, interdisciplinary dialogue, the biennial is supported by a range of cultural institutions and remains free to the public.