The 1st of February 2023 marks the second anniversary of the military dictatorship in Myanmar. Since the coup, people have suffered under repressive military rule in a collapsed state. They have experienced daily violations of rights ranging from war crimes and crimes against humanity to torture and murder.
By December 2022, the United Nations estimated that there were 1.5 million displaced people; 34,000 destroyed homes; villages burned to the ground; a looming food crisis; and 140,000 Rohingya in de facto internment camps while others suffer deprivation and discrimination rooted in their lack of citizenship. In addition to the trauma inflicted in people, the military coup has “crippled Myanmar’s economy”, as millions have lost their incomes, the national currency has plummeted, and prices have surged.
And despite it all, people have continued to fight for justice. Since the early days of the military coup, people’s response against the military has been unapologetic: pot-banging, ribbon-wearing, being silent, joining the civil disobedience movement, clasping hands during peaceful protests, making opposition artworks in multiple forms, or raising the three-finger salute.
These are just a fraction of the many acts of civil disobedience despite the collective terror suffered. Differently from what has been happening in the past, a nationwide revolutionary project has started and cuts across diverse age, socio-economic and identity groups, including an assertion of the rights of those left at the margins of ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities.
The message is the same: Never give up!
Honoring this spirit of creativity and resilience, the two-part art exhibition “Never Give Up: 2 Years into the Myanmar Coup” gather artworks of artists from Myanmar. Through poems, videos, photographs and paintings, they reflect on the ongoing challenges while stressing the centrality of human rights as well as their vision and hopes for a new just future for Myanmar.
Organized by SEA Junction in collaboration with Doh Hlay, the exhibitions showcasing the artworks from a larger online exhibition at www.dohhlay.com are on display from 24 January to 5 February (Part I) on the curved wall, 4th floor and from 21 February to 5 March 2023 (Part II) on the curved wall, 3rd floor of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC). It will be launched with a panel discussion on resistance art on 25 February 2023, 5.30-7.00 pm at SEA Junction.
Speakers:
- Myanmar Artist [Online]
- Zaw Moe, Country Manager, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
- Thet Swe Win, Executive Director, Synergy Social Harmony Organization
- Jarunan Phantachat, Co-Founder, B-Floor Theatre
Moderator: Dr. Rosalia Sciortino, Founder and Executive Director, SEA Junction
