WART CARTOON: Discussion & Mini Exhibition
August 19 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Since 2022, WART has collected drawings from children in Myanmar who refused to attend schools under the military regime and instead joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. These drawings, reflecting children’s experiences, resilience, and aspirations, have since been exhibited in Japan, offering international audiences a glimpse into the realities faced by Myanmar’s younger generation.
With support from the 2024 Kyoto Seika University Publishing Grant, WART published WART CARTOON <One-Panel Cartoon>: Reading Myanmar’s Suffering and Hopes on 1 February 2025, marking the fourth anniversary of the military coup. Featuring 66 one-panel cartoons, the publication received the Grand Prize in the Cartoon Category at the 55th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards in 2026. The award prize has helped make this exhibition and accompanying artist talk possible.
Join us at SEA Junction on 19 August from 5.30–7.00 pm for a conversation with Yoshinobu Douno, co-director of WART, together with Burmese and Thai artists, as they reflect on their artistic journeys and explore the role of satire and art in responding to conflict and contributing to peacebuilding. The session will also provide an opportunity to view the WART exhibition at SEA Junction and engage in a discussion on the intersections of art, social movements, and peacebuilding. The event will be held in English and will be livestreamed on SEA Junction’s Facebook page (@SEA-Junction) For this launch, we are joined by the following:
Speakers:
- Yoshinobu Dono, Japanese Artist and Co-representative of WART
- Edo Vader (aka Be Ru Ma), Burmese Artist
- Mook, Thai Artist
Commenter:
- Rosalia Sciortino, IPSR and SEA Junction
Moderator:
- Nang Mya Kay Khaing, Co-representative of WART
In collaboration with Solidarity Collective Thailand, at the event a new series of stickers on migrants contributing to the blue economy will be presented.
Speakers and Moderator’s Bios
Yoshinobu Dono is Japanese artist, Co-representative of WART (2021wart.org) and Part-time lecturer in the Streaming Manga Course, Faculty of Manga, Kyoto Seika University.
Edo Vader (aka Be Ru Ma) is a Burmese artist whose work includes editorial cartoons, children’s book illustration, animation, and painting inspired by stories from Burma (Myanmar).
Mook is a Thai artist and member of art collective “Art & Solidarity — Silapa”. Their works focus on anti-war efforts, international solidarity, and human rights.
Rosalia Sciortino is associate professor at the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University and the Founder and Director of SEA Junction (seajunction.org). She has served as IDRC Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia (2010–2014), Senior Adviser to AusAID in Indonesia (2009–2010), and Regional Director for Southeast Asia of the Rockefeller Foundation (2000–2007). She also served as a program officer at the Indonesia and Philippines offices of the Ford Foundation. She regularly writes on funding trends in the region (see www.rosaliasciortino.com).
Nang Mya Kay Khaing is special researcher at Kyoto Seika University and Co-representative of WART (2021wart.org). She also served as a Founder and President of Mya Japan Education Center (myajapaneduc.org).
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: The event is free, donations are welcome to support SEA Junction activities.
Organizers
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions- from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440/ and follow us on blue sky and Instagram @seajunction.
WART is a Japanese organization that was established in August 2021, when there was a military coup in Myanmar. At that time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we held webinars to share the situation in Myanmar with Japanese people interested in Myanmar, including Japanese cartoonist. We have also been showcasing satirical drawings contributed by these Japanese cartoonists in various places across Japan.
