Monthly Archives: September 2014
Myanmar’s fading cinemas
Written on September 16, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
Philip Jablon has a really nice DVB piece on Myanmar’s fading cinemas. He notes that between independence in 1948 and Ne Win’s coup in 1962, picture houses were built in record numbers. In Rangoon, the junction of Bogyoke Aung San Road and Sule Pagoda Road at one time saw 14 movie theatres stretch away in…
“Nothing has changed”
Written on September 15, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
Those were the words of “a well-known and wealthy businessman” asked by Irrawaddy editor Kyaw Zwa Moe about bribery, corruption, graft and nepotism in transitional Myanmar. Of course, there are now some trappings of good governance. One year ago an anti-corruption commission was set up. One month ago President Thein Sein identified bribery as one…
Pansodan Parasol Project
Written on September 12, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
Good luck to Pansodan Scene for the Parasol Project, which launches tomorrow and runs through September 19. This is the online description: “Initiated by a community-based, doctor-directed grass-root organization, supporting healthcare for disadvantaged in the outskirts of Yangon, the exhibition will display during one week close to a hundred Pathein parasols, called pathein hti.” Each…
Small states with big neighbours
Written on September 11, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
René Nyberg, former Finnish ambassador to Russia (2000-04) and Germany (2004-08), had an interesting op-ed in last week’s New York Times. The immediate context was the Ukraine crisis. As he made clear, though, the actual topic was how small states might deal with big neighbours. More technically, how can such countries manage the asymmetric power…
Indonesia as a model Southeast Asian democracy
Written on September 10, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
In Southeast Asia, Joe Cochrane argued at the end of last week, Indonesia is an unlikely transitional success story. Yes, indeed. In 16 years since the fall of Suharto, it has become “a role model for peaceful, democratic transfers of power in Southeast Asia, a region where they are becoming increasingly rare”. How did that…
Mainstreaming R2P in Southeast Asia
Written on September 9, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
Today in New York the High-level Advisory Panel on the Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia will present its initial report to the UN. The title is “Mainstreaming the Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: Pathway towards a Caring ASEAN Community”. The five-member panel was established in April 2013 in response to a UN request….
Banned in Burma – Melissa Carlson
Written on September 8, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
After months of sourcing censored paintings, and paintings that evaded the censors, Ian and I will launch our exhibit Banned in Burma on Monday, October 20, 2014 at the Nock Art Foundation warehouse in Hong Kong. We were fortunate to be introduced to Michael Nock, an Australian artist and avid collector who is a long-time…
Burma time warp
Written on September 5, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
It’s good to see the Irrawaddy rerun a November 2012 interview with Amitav Ghosh, author of the internationally acclaimed novel The Glass Palace. There’s more to chew on here than in a dozen standard news items. Mostly, you find yourself endorsing what Ghosh has to say. On one matter, though, I’m not so sure. Near…
Ambitious Alignments
Written on September 4, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
Here’s a terrific initiative – “Ambitious Alignments: New Histories of Southeast Asian Art”. It’s organized by the Power Institute at the University of Sydney, the National Gallery Singapore (still under construction), and the Institute of Technology, Bandung. It’s funded by the Connecting Art Histories grant programme at the Getty Foundation. The aim is to enable…
GlobalPost
Written on September 3, 2014 at 12:05 am, by Ian Holliday
GlobalPost popped up on my Twitter feed the other day, so I took a look. It has a feature entitled “Myanmar Emerges” that collects together quite a wide array of news videos, articles and slideshows grouped under three headings: opium war, oppression economics, and the people versus the power. Some of the topics are fascinating…