CET's artist talk for Asian Contemporary Art Week, 2011

The Role of Artists in Local Spaces and Global Society

Wednesday, March 30

Asian Cultural Council at Location One

6:30 pm: Dialogue with Artists + Reception

Join us for a special discussion presented by Asian Cultural Council 2011 grantees/ contemporary artists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and Hong Kong. Artists Rahraw and Manizhah Omarzad (Afghanistan), Firoz Mahmud (Bangladesh), Chaw Ei Thein (Burma), and Fong Wah Phoebe Hui (Hong Kong) will explore the challenges and opportunities encountered in their role as artists in local art scenes while becoming increasingly engaged in global art forums. Moderated by independent curator and ACAW Director Leeza Ahmady.

Location One
26 Greene Street (between Grand and Canal Streets) - MAP
Tel: 212-334-3347
www.location1.org

CHAW EI THEIN (b. 1969, Yangon, Myanmar) is a painter and performance artist based in currently New York. She has exhibited her first solo art exhibition and performed new work at the 2004 Nippon International Performance Art Festival (NIPAF) in Japan. She continued developing and performing work for TIPALive (2005)in Taiwan, Asiatopia in Thailand (2005/2007/2008), 8 Open International Performance Art Festival in Beijing (2007,) Small East Asia Co performance art event in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Toyama in Japan (2008) and the 7*11d Performance Art Festival in Toronto, Canada. She exhibited her second solo painting show at the Espace art gallery in Bangkok (2005), the Hermes’ Ear Art Exhibition at the Nitrianska Gallery in Slovakia and Budapest (2006) and her third solo exhibition at the Balance Art Gallery in Chiang Mai.

Currently an artist in residence in New York, she has exhibited new works at the Point B Gallery in Brooklyn, United Nations Plaza and the ISCP Open Studios. She was an invited speaker at the Asia House Art Gallery in London where she presented “The Myanmar Performance Art Scene: challenges faced by Myanmar artists” during the September demonstrations of 2007. She has given artist presentations at several universities and institutions including School of the Art Institute Chicago (SAIC), Massachusetts College of Art, Brown University, Northern Illinois Universit at DeKalb (NIU) and the Open Society Institute (OSI) in New York.

Her work has been widely covered in the international arts press including Asian Art Now, Asian Art Achieve, Artforum, Art Asia Pacific, Yishu, C-Arts, The Strait Times and The New York Times.

The architectural mixed-media installation, September Sweetness, corroboration with artist Richard Streitmatter Tran with debuted at the Singapore Bienniale 2008.

In addition to her work as an artist, she is also co-founder and Director of the Sunflower Art Gallery in Yangon. In this capacity she has developed several initiatives including the organizing of art exhibitions and fairs including special exhibitions for children’s art in Myanmar and Cambodia, and for psychiatric patients. She has been teaching art to children for more than 15 years and served as Editor for a youth magazine in Yangon.

As an advocate for art, education, and creative expression, she has been a vocal critic of the restrictive curricula in Burma.

She was awarded Fellowship in connection with the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) in residence

with the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) for one year from 2009 to 2010.