Neela Wickremesinghe: Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations oral history collection: NYU Special Collections Finding Aids

Scope and Contents

In the interview, Wickremesinghe discusses her Italian, Sinhalese, and Dutch heritage; racial identity; family visits to Sri Lanka; educational experiences; career in architecture; and impressions of crime and demographics in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Interview conducted by Manissa Maharawal.

Biographical note

Neela Wickremesinghe was born to an Italian American mother and a Sri Lankan father and raised in Staten Island, New York. Wickremesinghe received a B.A. in architecture and urbanism from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and an M.S. in historic preservation from Columbia University in New York City. She worked as an architecture conservator in New York City and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the interview is available onsite at the Brooklyn Historical Society's Othmer Library and online on the Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations website: cbbg.brooklynhistory.org. The Brooklyn Historical Society does not have permission to license oral history audio recordings or transcripts to third parties.

Subjects

Topics

Sinhalese (Sri Lankan people); Racially mixed people; Race identity; Racially mixed families; Italian Americans |z New York (State) |z Staten Island; Architecture |x Conservation and restoration

Places

Minneapolis (Minn.); Staten Island (New York, N.Y.); Sri Lanka

Related Materials

Oral history with Neela Wickremesinghe's sister, Devika Wickremesinghe, 2011.019.069.

Neela Wickremesinghe, 2013 October 22, inclusive