You can’t go to the Myanmar Art Museum to study the evolution of Myanmar art because there is no such thing as an art museum in Myanmar.
Some even fail to notice that there is an art booth at the National Museum, which has been in existence for 66 years. Paintings in the booth by ancient artists have been waiting for visitors in complete silence. That’s why the museum is sometime called “the graveyard of paintings.”
Now, officials from the museum are collaborating with collectors and contemporary artists to help bridge the gap.
The Museum Activity Art Exhibition, the first of its kind organized by the National Museum, opened to the public on Tuesday and will run until Wednesday.
The National Museum’s assistant director, U Kyaw Shin Naung, brought together contemporary artists with elderly colleagues who had lost touch with the museum to organize the exhibit.
“I want people at the museum to be able to appreciate art. Frankly, I want to get rid of the notion that all the museum pieces are things that have been in existence for centuries or that they have been excavated. I want people to understand the importance of art,” he said.
The exhibit features paintings by various contemporary artists, such as former prisoner San Min, alongside the works of their elder colleagues. The show was opened by Culture Minister Thura U Aung Ko.
Read the complete article by Wei Yan Aung, translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein, on The Irrawady.
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