WE ARE THE SEEDS - THE ART OF MYANMAR'S SPRING REVOLUTION

17.07.2023 – 19.07.2023 / 19:00 – 21:00
With Zoncy Heavenly

With works by Wooh, M, Ma Thida, li li k.s.a, Pinky, Hpone, Yadanar Win, Ko Latt, Zoncy Heavenly

Myanmar is one of the world’s forgotten conflicts, unleashed by a brutal military coup. “We are the Seeds” is an exhibition and event series by 20 contemporary artists from Myanmar who live in exile due to their activism. Through their art, they join their country’s democratic revolution. DAAD Berliner Künstlerprogramm is supporting four artists to come to Berlin and hosts three performance, music and discussion events in a first-of-its-kind series in July 2023 to win over an international public to their cause.
The illustrations, sound installations, dances, performances and videos negotiate difficult topics: Concepts and notions of freedom and the ambivalent experience of exile; senses of history – history repeating itself, turning back time, culture of remembrance, reliving grandfathers’ & grandmothers’ experiences; but also the fruits of progress after 10 years of opening up as a society in Myanmar, which resulted in empowerment of women and the LGBTQ community, increased international contacts, empowerment of new generations and more visibility of minorities.

17. July 2023, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
We are the seeds – Is history merely repeating itself?
Literary & graphic novel readings, film screening & panel discussion 
with Wooh, M, Ma Thida and Zoncy Heavenly

The 35th anniversary of the 1988 Revolution in Myanmar this summer is an occasion to think about disruption and continuity between the Spring Revolution of 2021 and previous democratic uprisings. The event aims at viewing the Spring Revolution through the lens of documentary film and cartoon, celebrating the courage of political prisoners and showcasing the unprecedented effort to create an inclusive and federal democratic system. 
Wooh  is one of Myanmar’s most important cartoonists. He took part in the 1996 student uprising and spent time as a political prisoner. He has published a graphic novel about this experience and his latest graphic novel, titled Green Dogs, reflects on the Spring Revolution.
M is a filmmaker of ethnic minority from a conflict-ridden region in Myanmar. They lived and worked abroad before settling in Yangon. After democratic changes a decade ago, they dedicated themselves to filmmaking. M’s artistic activities have brought them to various film festivals around the world.
Ma Thida is one of Myanmar’s best-known writers. Additionally, she is a surgeon, a public intellectual and the president of PEN Myanmar. Her writing also reflects on her experience as a political prisoner and she is completing a residency of the Martin Roth Initiative to complete a sequel of her celebrated novel, The Roadmap.
Zoncy Heavenly is a performance artist, as well as the founder of Diverze Youth Artist Platform, investigating themes like feminism and Myanmar’s suppressed minorities in her art. In 2022/2023, she is a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.

18. July 2023, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
We are the seeds – A lantern of hope I
Sound performance, video screening, performance & panel discussion 
with li li k.s.a, Pinky, Hpone and Zoncy Heavenly

The experience of exile has been a part of Myanmar activists’ and artists’ life since the 1988 revolution, as exemplified in the poem With a lantern of hope of poet Tin Moe. The trauma, stress and flickers of hope and opportunity while being uprooted and transplanted to a new society and context provide fertile ground for artistic expression. The Myanmar artists of the Millennial generations followed the path of exiled artists before them who fled their homes due to human rights violations and brutal oppression by the Military regimes.
li li k.s.a is a violinist and sound artist who has studied at the Frankfurt conservatory in Germany. His sound installation Tan Bone has exhibited across Europe, incl at documenta.
Pinky is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and an experimental artist. Starting out as a musician, she is now painting for social movements. She fled the country right after one member of her sound collective, Noise in Yangon, was arrested and detained.
Hpone is a dancer who promoted hip-hop culture through an association he founded – the Dance CAMP – and participated in Myanmar Got Talent. The son of a Burmese Diplomat who stands against the Myanmar Military Coup, he cannot return to Myanmar. He has to pause his dream to work for a vibrant Hip-Hop culture in Myanmar and is studying Dance in Paris.
Zoncy Heavenly is a performance artist, as well as the founder of Diverze Youth Artist Platform, investigating themes like feminism and Myanmar’s suppressed minorities in her art. In 2022/2023 she is a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.

19. July 2023, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
We are the seeds – A lantern of hope II
Performance & panel discussion
with Yadanar Win and Ko Latt

Relocation does not always sit well with plants, as it happens to humans. Like plants, artists react to sensory changes or transplant shock. Roaming around the given freedom and liberty in their new environments in Europe, how did the artists aestheticize in their displacement experience?
Yadanar Win is an award-winning multimedia and performance artist whose work engages critically with topics like Myanmar’s peace process or personal struggles as a female artist.
Ko Latt is a performance and multimedia artist who has studied in Zurich and Yangon. His work challenges faith and norms, especially around homosexuality in Myanmar society.

Admission free

daadgalerie, Oranienstr. 161, 10969 Berlin