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Aung Soe Min

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Aung Soe Min
အောင်စိုးမင်း,
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Kyaukpadaung, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
NationalityBurmese
Occupation(s)Poet, Musician, Publisher

Aung Soe Min (Burmese: အောင်စိုးမင်း, born 1970) is a Burmese poet, musician,[1][2] publisher,[3] artist, magazine editor,[4] film director and notable gallerist.[5][6][7][8][9] Aung Soe Min living and working in Yangon, Myanmar. He has for many years been a leading figure in Myanmar’s "contemporary art world",[10] fostering a space for creative and intellectual discussion[11] while supporting the Pro-democracy movement in Burma through his engagement with the arts.[10][12][13][3][14]

Early life & Education

Aung Soe Min was born in Kyaukpadaung, Mandalay Division in November 1970. Originally graduating with a degree in Mechanical Power Engineering from the Government Technical Institute (GTI) in Chauk, his education was interrupted by the demonstrations of 1988, when Chauk GTI closed for two years.

Influence in the Creative Arts & Literature Scene

Aung Soe Min is known for his artistic advocacy and attempts to fight against censorship and freedom of expression and is widely credited with "breath(ing) life into Myanmar’s contemporary arts scene when censorship was at its height and mentor(ing) a new generation of creative talent".[15][11] His projects include: the Pansodan Gallery and Archives (founded in 2008), Pansurya,[16] and Pansodan Scene,[17] which have become important creative hubs within Yangon, with Aung having one of the largest collections of modern Burmese art in the country.[3] Alongside Nance Cunningham, he authored a Burmese-English, English-Burmese dictionary. He is also "the author of numerous articles, poems, short stories, and essays published in the leading magazines of their time".[18]

Due to his sustained efforts, art that had often previously remained within the domain of propaganda under the military regime is now being purchased by tourists and local Burmese alike, contributing towards an artistic revival within the country.[15]

“There is a deep connection between arts and society. From the 1980s to 2010s, we descended into the age of imitation. Everyone sang plagiarised songs. It was the same in the movie industry — Thai movies, Indian movies, Chinese movies were all imitated. If we could not create our own arts for 20 years, then surely there was something wrong with our society?".'[15] Howhever, Aung Soe Min critiques orthodox development thinking as he claims certain forms of development can often lead to a loss of social capital, hoping to foster opportunities for artist to sustain themselves economically through the Independent Myanmar Artist Alliance,[19] a professional association for artists somewhat alike a union."For me, the opening up [of Burma] is really good for our culture and our community," said Aung Soe Min. "But I'm also afraid how healthy our culture can remain, because as we become industrialised… we find ourselves facing two things: social and political freedom, and the forces of capitalism and materialism."[20]

His collection "Includes everything from posters of pre-junta fashion shows to the first Muslim teaching books written in Burmese", archive documents, prints and photographs"[21] which he hopes one day will become an independent museum, a history which would not otherwise be documented by the Burmese government.“We are pushing all the time to enable ourselves [to work independently] from the government” he said.[21]

Aung Soe Min has given a TEDx talk in 2016 on the history of Burma,[18] key eras from the previous century—British Colonial, Japanese Occupation, Parliamentary Democracy, Socialism, Military Dictatorship—and the importance of public memory of these times. Noting that successive governments delegitimised the ones which they replaced, making it difficult to learn lessons from history, he said, “I’m curious about the other things happening in this society – not just what the government wants me to know”.[22] Furthermore, appearing at Future Cities in Ecuador following a personal feature by the project.[23] He has also worked alongside the Yangon Heritage Trust to document local heritage sites in Yangon.[24]

References

  1. ^ "LISTEN: This is what happens when a US-based musician and a Burmese art gallery owner make an album together | Coconuts Yangon". Coconuts. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  2. ^ "Si Wa Project". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  3. ^ a b c "Aung Soe Min | Future Cities". Future Cities. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  4. ^ Times, The Myanmar. "A new avenue for arts". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  5. ^ "Art finds its place in the new Yangon- Nikkei Asian Review". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  6. ^ Times, The Myanmar. "From Pansodan to Pansuriya:". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  7. ^ Gaweewong, Gridthiya (March 2015). "Southeast Asian Museums : On a Slow Path to Maturity". The Gakushuin Journal of International Studies. 2: 57–66 – via GLIM Institution Repository.
  8. ^ Times, The Myanmar. "No black No white No red". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  9. ^ Sardina Galacha, Carlos (2012-01-26). "Art for Rangoon's Sake". The Irrawady. Retrieved 2017-07-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ a b "aung soe min". thukhuma.org. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  11. ^ a b E. W, Ng (2017). "Ian Holliday: Through Burmese eyes. ArtAsiaPacific, (104), 52". ArtAsiaPacific. 104: 52 – via APAFT.
  12. ^ Heijmans, Philip (2014-12-02). "New Freedom for Myanmar's Artists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  13. ^ Heijmans, Philip (2015-10-15). "Myanmar: The art of doing business in a country in transition". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  14. ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Artists in Myanmar: The challenges of newly-gained freedom | Art of Freedom. Freedom of Art. | DW | 02.01.2016". DW.COM. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  15. ^ a b c "The Art of Perspective". The Kite Tales. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  16. ^ "From Pansodan to Pansuriya:". mmtimes.com. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  17. ^ Johnston, Nathalie (2015). "Myanmar". ArtAsiaPacific Almanac. 10: 155–156.
  18. ^ a b "TEDxInyaLake | TED.com". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  19. ^ Times, The Myanmar. "Art association to encourage free expression". The Myanmar Times. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  20. ^ "'New' Burma has winners and losers | World news | The Guardian". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  21. ^ a b "Check out the counter-culture scene in Rangoon, Burma | Travel | The Guardian". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  22. ^ Gleeson, Sean. "Critical connections". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  23. ^ "Aung Soe Min | Future Cities". futurecities.nl. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  24. ^ Alex, Palmer (2014-11-13). "The Race to Save Architecture in Myanmar's Biggest City". National Geographic. Retrieved 2017-07-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
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