ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Yadanar Win on Myanmar's Coup, Exile, and Diaspora Art Activism

artist · 2026-04-20

In April 2021, Yadanar Win, a multimedia artist hailing from Yangon, Myanmar, sought refuge in Germany with assistance from the Goethe-Institut following the military coup on February 1, 2021, which displaced the National League for Democracy and placed power in the hands of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. During her quarantine in Myanmar, she observed the stillness preceding the protests. As a member of the performance art collective 3AM, Win mobilized artists in Yangon to back the demonstrators. After a widely-shared performance, she departed Myanmar on April 20, 2021. In Europe, she curated the exhibition 'Insight Out/ Myanmar Kunst & Realität' in July 2021 and performed in Paris in September 2021, promoting the Civil Disobedience Movement while condemning Myanmar's political situation and ethnic discrimination.

Key facts

  • Myanmar's military coup occurred on February 1, 2021, deposing the National League for Democracy.
  • Yadanar Win fled to Germany in April 2021 with help from Goethe-Institut and is now in exile in France.
  • Win is a member of the performance art collective 3AM, which includes Ma Ei and Ko Latt.
  • On February 18, 2021, Win performed a three-hour protest piece in Yangon with blood and signs.
  • The military shot protesters in Yangon on February 27, 2021, killing 18 people.
  • Win organized an exhibition in July 2021 titled 'Insight Out/ Myanmar Kunst & Realität' with 30 Myanmar artists.
  • She performed publicly in Paris in September 2021, collaborating with the Myanmar diaspora.
  • Myanmar's military uses religion and nationalism to discriminate against ethnic groups, with ethnicity required on identification cards.

Entities

Artists

  • Yadanar Win
  • Ma Ei
  • Ko Latt
  • Tayzar San
  • Andreas Hoffmann
  • Anne-Katherin Klatt

Institutions

  • Goethe-Institut
  • Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
  • ArtReview
  • National League for Democracy
  • Myawaddy TV
  • Transnational Coalition for the Arts

Locations

  • Yangon
  • Myanmar
  • Germany
  • France
  • Reston
  • Virginia
  • United States
  • Mandalay
  • China
  • Paris

Sources