Susan Banki / Migrant Artists and Migrating Art from Myanmar: Expanding Activism

This event took place as part of the Art, Power, Inequality conference, held at Western Sydney University on 9 April 2024.
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The violence enacted on the people of Myanmar over decades has been captured in photographs, performances, hip hop and art of various mediums. The subjects of such art are as diverse as their messages, excoriating perpetrators, historical figures, and the international community as an accomplice. While much of this work has been undertaken by those still within the borders of their countries, migrant artists have played a significant role in recapturing the narrative to project Myanmar’s authoritarian status. Relying on theories of diasporas and transnationalism, I argue that the art itself- a form of migrating art - plays underexplored roles in upending power relations through three elements: increased audiences, new resources and spatio-temporal disruption. In this paper, I analyse and interpret artworks from and about Myanmar both pre- and post-coup, and their projections in the diaspora. The expansive qualities of migrating art demonstrate an additional form of subversion and resistance against home countries in crisis.
About the speaker:
Susan Banki studies the political, institutional, and social contexts that explain the roots of and solutions to human rights violations and social justice abuses. In particular, she is interested in the ways that questions of sovereignty, transnationalism, and citizenship/membership have shaped our responses to conflict and injustice, particularly examining institutions such as the international refugee regime, diasporas and the humanitarian system. Susan’s focus is in the Asia-Pacific
region, where she has conducted extensive field research in Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Japan on refugee/migrant protection, statelessness and border control. Her current projects include: the work of diasporas in responding to acute crises at home; humanitarian responses to complex displacement contexts; and the role of creative arts in transnational activism.