First Breakout — Artistic Expressions from the Heart — Exhibition by Kyaw Thu

“I have been denied all rights to artistic creation in Myanmar since September 2007, when I offered alms and water to monks walking in peaceful protest and reciting prayers of love during the Saffron Revolution, all the way to my current visit to the United States. I would like to call it the first breakout, the first artistic expressions from the heart, to be able to publicly exhibit the heartfelt works I have painted during my visit to America.” – Kyaw Thu (film actor, director, producer, painter, undertaker)

First Breakout is curated by art@apt (Chaw Ei Thein & KST) and is hosted at Project Reach NYC located at 39 Eldridge Street, 4FL. New York, NY 10002.

Opening Reception : May 25, 6-8PM / Closing Reception : May 27, 6-8PM

In addition to the ordinary assembly procedures, the assembly participants will engage in vital issues to help determine the future of the young and growing ICORN network. Should ICORN member cities continue hosting writers only, or should our organisation consider offering shelter also to persecuted artists and human rights defenders? During a Market of Ideas fD has been invited  to discuss and share experiences around various topics including “The Art of hosting”, “Promotion”, “Working with PEN International” and “Preparing for the Afterlife”. fD will present and workshop its Creative Safe Haven and Community Resource Mapping models in dialogue with other participants.

For more information visit : http://www.icorn.org/

 “I was nominated to participate in the Mentoring Program by   freeDimensional. Since I had to make a decision to live in New York, I  faced a lot of challenges, not only for daily living but also for my artistic career. At that time I felt very scared, worried and confused about starting my career and life again here in the U.S. and especially in New York City where living is expensive and the art field is so competitive. Furthermore, I was trying to engage with a new and different people, culture, language, system and customs for my survival.

When I began the Mentoring Program at NYFA, I found that I was not alone in this situation and with these challenges. All of the artists I met in this program are immigrant artists. I learned a lot about them and how they are trying to survive as artists like I am. During the program I felt that I got back some of the energy that I had when I lived in Burma. And then when I met with my Mentor Alexandra Pacula, I felt like I had received a great opportunity, as my Mentor is generous and helped me with many different aspects of my living and my career. She was also an immigrant from Poland and she shared with me all of her experiences of being an artist in New York.”

To read the full article visit: http://www.nyfa.org/level3.asp?id=659&fid=1&sid=145

But his artwork represents much darker story of rebirth. Nyaphaga was raised in a small village in the equatorial forests of Cameroon. After high school, he worked as a political cartoonist for the newspaper, Le Messager Popoli. In 1994, Cameroon’s regime jailed and tortured Nyaphaga for oppositional ideas expressed in his controversial cartoons. Two years later, Nyaphaga escaped Cameroon to seek asylum in France.

Since his escape, Nyaphaga has continued his passion throughout France and the United States with the support of organizations such as freeDemensional. Nyaphaga is currently working on the development of a philosophical installation called Urban Way, which combines body paint, music and performance in a symbolic protest against his exile. The artist also created Capillarism, a painting technique in which a layer of human http://www.gooakley.com/ hair lies on the canvas beneath the paint, adding a unique texture to his work.

In addition to his own art projects, he also has taught painting courses at universities, led workshops for at-risk children and illustrated books in France. In 2002, Nyaphaga founded Hope International for the Tikar People, an organization that provides school and health care supplies, such as wheelchairs and books, to seven Tikar villages in Cameroon. He also co-founded the organization African Journalists in Exile, which supports oppressed writers. Nyaphaga has been cheap oakley featured in two documentaries, one – called The Pen in Exile – about his life, with a third in progress.

By Hannah Oppenheimer

The World Policy Journal is featuring five freeDimensional stakeholders on its blog this Fall in relation to its current issue, The Creative Canon.

Photo via flickr courtesy of networkcultures.