In 2006, I came to New York for a yearlong artist residency program and during that time, I was warned that my safety could not be assured if I were to return to Burma. The reason I could not return was my artwork, interviews I had given with the international media and newspaper articles about my work as it related to a critique of the political situation in Burma at that time. Unable to return home, I was facing very difficult time settling in to life in New York; I was totally frustrated and very worried about how to live, find a way to survive and uncertain as to whether I could continue my career as an artist in this new place with its new challenges.

Then in 2010, one of my friends, an artist who lives in Brooklyn introduced me to Todd Lester, founder of freeDimensional. fD provided the support I needed to restart my life as an artist in New York City, connecting me to the arts community, pro-bono legal counsel for my asylum process, immigrant resources and services. fD recommended me for several artist residency programs and arranged talks at cultural institutions, universities and arts organizations to share my experiences and through my artwork raise awareness about the situation of freedom of expression and democracy in my home country. These opportunities to engage with people, to tell my story, is how I got back the energy and confidence I needed to keep doing what I had been doing before and deal with the new challenges I was faced with.

Through fD I have made many new friends, who like me were forced to leave their countries because of their art and activities defending human rights and freedom of expression. Having a community of like-minded individuals with similar experiences, who could learn from each other to keep moving forward, made me feel like I was not alone.

These days, when artists, journalists and cultural workers who fight for social justice face great risks and personal danger, organizations like fD that protect and support vulnerable individuals are of crucial importance to defending freedom of expression around the world.

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Artists often use their creative practice to voice the concerns of their communities and challenge injustice, but in return they may be harassed, attacked, exiled, imprisoned, tortured or worse…fD defends these essential voices but to do so we need your financial support today.

Since 2006, fD has worked with nearly 200 culture workers at risk, from over 35 countries, by brokering safe haven in artists residencies and developing tools for partners across sectors to help assess and support artists in danger. Right now we need your support for:

– One-to-One case management for artists, culture workers and communicators in need of critical personal and professional support.

– Design and translation of our DIY guidebook for individuals at risk – Creative Safe Haven Advo-kit – into the languages of territories where culture workers are most in need.

– Development of 5 ‘regional safety networks’ around the world to provide immediate and accessible response when individuals are in situations of dangers.

Your contribution will make a real difference in the lives of artists, culture workers and communicators who find themselves at risk, around the world.

Sincerely,

the fD Team

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Donate today! – click here to make your donation online or send a check payable to freeDimensional to P.O. Box 301, New York, NY 10276

Fragile States is an exploration of the physical and psychological experiences of persecution and forced displacement. The artists featured in the exhibition share a common experience of having to leave their country of origin after facing threats, violent assault, imprisonment or torture as a result of using their creative practice to voice the concerns of their communities.

Featured Artists: Owen Maseko (Zimbabwe), Zunar (Malaysia), Kianoush Ramezani (Iran), Chaw Ei Thein (Burma), Kardash Onnig (Armenia), Khaled Barakeh (Syria), Arahmaiani Feisal (Indonesia) and Issa Nyaphaga (Cameroon).

Admission by donation (suggested donation $10 – $20) to freeDimensional. fD supports culture in the service of free expression, justice and equality by protecting critical voices through creative safe haven residency programs, mobilizing critical resources and services and quick-response funding to remove cultural activists from dangerous situations. fD will receive 60% of proceeds from exhibition sales to further regional artist safety initiatives and to support the needs of artists in distress.

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

 “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

Transit Lounge/Waiting Room captures the experiences of fD’s New York stakeholders (artists displaced from their home countries as a result of their artistic activism) through http://www.gooakley.com/ performance, visual art, and video interviews. Transit Lounge/Waiting Room will highlight the situation in Burma, in particular the continual attacks on free expression. It explores the experience of displacement and acclimatization to a new environment when an artist is forced to depart their home country.

Image taken from chaweithein.blogspot.com/