Exhibition: January 29 – May 21, 2017East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, Hawai‘i

cultural diversity and individualeveryday lived experiences, revealingthe vulnerabilities and pressures onYangon’s people and its heritagetoday. The storytellers share thoughtsand feelings, speaking of joy andtragedy, simple pleasures and achingissues. Told with courage and charm,the informal stories of home offer in-sight into what has happened and ishappening to the city. This exhibition, a popular historyof buildings, charts social space andurban folklore, linking past to presentvia living memories.

Yangon EchoesInside heritage homes

The East-West Center Arts Program presents

Bobby Bendani with a ‘Dangerous Building’ notice on one of Yangon’s once elegant buildings. This building has since been demolished.

Curators: Virginia Henderson, Tim Webster, Michael SchusterPhotographer: Tim WebsterInstallation design: Lynne NajitaAssistant Curator: Annie Reynolds

Y known as Burma, is confronting thejuggernaut of global capital after fiftyyears of isolation under socialist military rule. Encountering this sudden turn-around, Yangon residents are grapplingwith these questions: What is the roleof heritage at such a time of profoundpolitical, economic and social change?What do heritage and home mean toeach of us? How are we informed bythe past and what are our means forsurvival amidst the challenges ofgreat flux? Yangon Echoes, an oral historylistening project, investigates multi-

Yangon Echoes invites viewers behindthe facades of century-old colonialbuildings, inside heritage homes, toexplore the lives of people living in thecity formerly known as Rangoon. This exhibition explores notionsand values of heritage and home at atime of unprecedented change. Itpresents intimate views of domesticlife while tracing the emergence ofthis city from decades of stagnationto its engagement with a rapidly globalizing world. Today, Yangon is probably changingmore quickly than any other urbanspace in the world. Myanmar, formerly

Layers of Time When the British invaded Burma in the1850s, Yangon was a small, swampy settlement but a strategic river porthosting the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar’s most important shrine. The colonists set about draining and dredging the sinking sandy land and agrid plan was laid out to form the citycenter. Merchant houses, banks and insurance companies, many from Scotland and Glasgow in particular, established themselves and commis-sioned elegant Victorian buildings fortheir offices designed by leading architects of the day. Rangoon grew into a sophisticated hub of global trade,thriving on exports of rice, teak and oil. Emigrating Indians and Chinesemoved to Burma. The British broughtindentured labor from India. Rice fieldworkers came from South India, Tamilsfrom Madras. People from Bihar workedthe sugarcane plantations. WealthyChettiar moneylenders soon ownedseventy percent of agricultural land.

Engineers, doctors and most of the high-ranking administrators in the Secretariat,the seat of British administration, wereIndian Hindus and Moslems. Much ofYangon’s business community was alsoIndian. Textiles were managed by peoplefrom Rajasthan and Memon. Gold, diamond and jewelry businesses wererun by Gujaratis, who also handled ricemilling. Hardware was the domain ofpeople from Surat who ran Yangon’sSurti Bazaar, today the central market,Theingyi Zay. Wealthy Chinese migratedto Yangon rather than the Philippines,Singapore or Malaysia. Hokkien tradersand Cantonese businessmen weredrawn to emerging opportunities. Through personal stories, this exhibition reveals a ‘living history’ of the country since WWII, as told by the storytellers, most of the elders, living in Yangon’s heritage places. Some storytellers recall the devastating bombings of Yangon by both Japanese and British forcesduring World War II, scattering residentsand leaving a once fine city in tatters.With Burma on the cusp of becoming independent of British rule, optimismsoon turned to tragedy. Everyone of agein this country remembers exactly whatthey were doing around half past ten on the morning of 19th July 1947, whenGeneral Aung San and six of his cabinetmembers in waiting were assassinated.Fractured shoots of democracy wereeliminated by General Ne Win’s coupd’état in 1962. Installing a centralizedeconomy on a nationalist mission, the socialist government wiped out companies and trading housesovernight, appropriating all buildings,land and inventory listed as the propertyof private businesses. Many foreignerswere obliged to leave the country at

U AUNG LIN, LATHA STREET

CONSTRUCTION OF OVERPASS AT SHWE GON DAING

Diverse YangonA gathering point, melting pot and greatplace to call home, Yangon is heraldedas a city of diversity and tolerance.Through waves of migration, the cityhas absorbed people of different faithsbringing their spiritual beliefs and religious practices. People of many nationalities have played their part inYangon’s development. Vibrant and multicultural, Yangonbecame one of the most cosmopolitancities in the British Empire. Lively anddiverse neighborhoods continue to define this city today. Buddhist pagodas,Shia and Sunni mosques, a Jewish synagogue, Roman Catholic and Anglican cathedrals, Hindu, Chinese,Parsi, Jain and Bahá’í temples nestlealongside one another downtown.

MIRAFLORES, BUILT 1891

ARIAL ROOTS OF A BANYAN TREE ON NATMAUK ROAD

short notice. Nationalization had painfulconsequences. For decades, citizenswere forced to endure harsh living conditions imposed by the regime. Since 2011 when the countryopened up, the trickle of internationalinvestment has become a flood. Post-colonial transitions and modernizationsunfolding over decades in much of Asianow stun Myanmar. Enduring more thana century, many of Yangon’s antiquebuildings and the stories that go withthem are being erased in the rush tomodernize.

Heritage and HomeInstitutions and governments oftencharge themselves with the task of deciding what relics are significant orimportant enough to be preserved.Such selections are contrived to projecta national narrative, the story of the day.In authorized versions, the voices andideas of common folk are usually unheard.Traditional history concentrates on famous people and their powerfuldeeds. But what do these events meanto folk going about their daily lives, feeding families, getting children toschool and earning a living? Ideally, home is a place to rest andfeel safe, to build strength and share.Beyond bricks and bamboo, homes arerepositories of feelings and memories,of values and meanings. Yangon heritagehomes are a mix of humble and grandhomes, some lovingly maintained, others completely derelict. This exhibition is based on the bookYangon Echoes, Inside heritage homes,an illustrated anthology of oral histories.A listening project, it speaks of eventsas remembered and told by elders, whoare valuable heritage repositories, theirstories representing precious local wisdom, a pool of living memories. Presented here are the everyday storiesof people who have made their homesin Yangon’s heritage buildings, their connection with place, identity and family inheritance. In times of great change, heritageand home are stabilizing influences, offering reference points and continuity,anchoring us, reminding us where wehave come from and who we are.

PEGGY AT HOME IN YAW GYI STREET, FORMERLY YORK ROAD

HAJIRA BIBI WITH GRANDDAUGHTER, PATAIL BUILDING

PEGU CLUB TENANTS

Printed with soy based inks on recycled paper

SHARIFFA BIBI’S MANSION

The East-West Center promotes better relationsand understanding among the people and nationsof the United States, Asia, and the Pacific throughcooperative study, research, and dialogue. Establishedby the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves asa resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people togetherto exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public,nonprofit organization with funding from the U.S. government, and additional support providedby private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region.

The East-West Center Arts Programfor more than 38 years has enriched the communitythrough concerts, lectures, symposia, and exhibitionsfocusing on arts of the region, and by arranging cultural and educational tours by artists who areskilled in bridging cultures.

EWC Arts Team: Karen Knudsen, director, Officeof External Affairs; Michael Schuster, Ph.D., curator;Eric Chang, arts program coordinator; AnnaReynolds, arts program assistant; William Feltz, adjunct arts specialist; Gary Yoshida, Elizabeth Kuioka,development officers; Kisore Sherreitt, student assistant

Mahalo: Tin Myaing Thein, Miemie Winn Byrd,MaMa Naing, U Than Nyunt, U Sein Myint, U MinLwin Oo, Myanmar Frangipani Travels & Tours, BaThaw, Helping Hands, Aung Thapyay Hotel, SammySamuels, Lynne Najita, Kennedy & Preiss GraphicDesign, Leilani Ng, Colorprints Inc., Nancy Hulbirt,Brooks Bays, Jr., SOEST, Ann Hartman, Meril Fujiki,Jennifer Leger, Shayne Hasegawa, Derek Ferrar,Phyllis Tabusa, Lucy Kamealoha, Deanna O’Brien,Tina Tom, Patsy Hiraoka, Marie Ebesu, EWC Facilities Management, and all the generous contributors to the book Yangon Echoes.

This exhibition is made possible by The HawaiiPacific Rim Society; Richard H. Cox; Aqua-Aston Hospitality; Sony Hawaii Company; and Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc.

The EWC Arts Program is supported by EWC Arts ‘Ohanamembers, Jean E. Rolles, Jackie Chan Foundation USA,and other generous donors.

http://arts.EastWestCenter.org

Special Events In the EWC Gallery with free admission,unless otherwise noted.

Sunday, January 29, 2:00–3:30 p.m.Exhibition Gala Opening including reception and a short dance performanceby the local Burmese community and exhibition tour with visiting curators, Virginia Henderson and Tim Webster.

Sunday, February 5, 2:00–3:00 p.m.Illustrated Talk: “Developing YangonEchoes” by visiting curators Virginia Henderson and Tim Webster.

Sunday, February 26, 2:00–3:00 p.m.Illustrated Talk: “Myanmar PoliticalTransition” by Miemie Winn Byrd, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

Sunday, March 19, 2:00–3:00 p.m.Illustrated Talk: “The Role of Women inMyanmar Culture” by Miemie Winn Byrd,Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

Saturday & Sunday, April 1 & 2(See Performance at right.)

Sunday, April 23, 2:00–3:00 p.m.Illustrated Talk: “Hawai‘i-Myanmar K-12 Education Partnerships” by KarenKnudsen, Director of East-West CenterExternal Affairs, Jeremiah Brown, ESL Coordinator, Waipahu High School, Sean Hamamura, Special EducationTeacher/Language Arts, Mililani HighSchool and Gerry Kolbeck, TechnologyCoordinator, Lunalilo Elementary School.

Sunday, May 7, 2:00–3:30 p.m.Film: “Burma VJ: Reporting from aClosed Country” is a 2008 documentaryfilm directed by Anders Ostergaard. It follows the Saffron Revolution againstthe military regime in Burma.

Sunday, May 21, 2:00–3:00 p.m.Talk: “Strategic Importance of Myanmar” by Colonel (retired) WilliamDickey, former U.S. Defense Attaché inMyanmar and Miemie Winn Byrd, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

East-West Center GalleryJohn A. Burns Hall, 1601 East-West Road(corner Dole St. & East-West Rd.)

Gallery admission is free. Hours: Open Weekdays 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sundays Noon–4:00 p.m.Closed Saturdays, Feb. 20, Apr. 16, May 29

Parking on the UH-Mānoa campus is normally free and ample on Sundays.

Free school & group tours available

For further information: 944-7177arts@EastWestCenter.orghttp://arts.EastWestCenter.org

Find us on Facebook and Instagram: EWC_arts

Performance:Saturday, April 1, 4:00–5:30 p.m.Sunday, April 2, 4:00–5:30 p.m.UH Mānoa Orvis Auditorium

Myanmar Marionette TheatreThe Myanmar Marionette Theatre is at the forefront of restoring the enchanting 18th c. Burmese puppettradition and developing a new generation of artists and audiences.Suitable for children and adults, the performance will showcase puppeteers accompanied by live traditional music.Tickets available Feb. 1, see website for details.