In Conversation | Cultural Activism/Cultural Diplomacy

About

Join artists Karl Ingar Røys and San Zaw Htway for a discussion around the role of artistic activism in transitional societies. Taking Karl Ingar Røys' current exhibition Burmese Days as a starting point, the panel will look at cultural production in Burma before and after the military regime, and will discuss the role of art within societies currently undergoing political upheaval. How can art engage and stimulate civil society? And how can an artist maintain freedom of expression within an oppressive political situation? Karl Ingar Røys initially studied Law at the University of Tromsø in Norway before graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art in 2000. He is currently studying his Masters in Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen in Norway researching the role of cultural activism in transitional societies. Røys has exhibited internationally, with his most recent projects held at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; Kube Art Museum, à â€¦lesund; Rex Culture Centre, Belgrade; MediaDepo, Ukraine; Tallinn Kunst Hall, Estonia; and Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen, Austria. He lives and works in Oslo and Berlin. San Zaw Htway was studying at the University in Yangon when he was arrested for involvement in efforts to re-establish the All Burma Federation of Students Union (ABFSU). Aged just 24, he was sentenced to 36 years' imprisonment by the military government but was released in 2012 following a presidential amnesty. Whilst in prison, San Zaw Htway created collage art from old food wrappers and plastic packaging to cope with his solitary confinement and poor living conditions. He is currently nominated for the 2014 Artraker award. Chaired by Cassandra Needham, Curator of John Jones Project Space Free, but booking is recommended.