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Opening Event and Reception for Photography and Art Exhibition “The Coup Years”
January 27 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
The opening event and reception for “The Coup Years” will take place on the 27th January 2026 from 5.30 – 7.00 PM. Composing of two parts, the first part of the opening event will be a talk panel will be hosted at SEA Junction (room 407-8, 4th Floor, BACC) featuring:
- Mon Mon Myat, Independent Journalist and writer
- Debbie Stothard, Founder & Coordinator, ALTSEAN-Burma
- James E. Rodehaver, Myanmar Team Chief, OHCHR
Following the talk, there will be a reception with food and drinks and a musical performance by Myanmar artists Su Myat, Pho San and Daniel Saw on the 5th Floor of the BACC.
Exhibition Background
For five years now the people for Myanmar have been fighting to restore democracy after the coup on 1st February 2021 by General Min Aung Hlaing following the landslide victory of the National League of Democracy (NLD) in the general election of 2020. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other key officials and political activists were arrested, and within a matter of days, youths and older people from all walks of life began to pour onto the streets in outrage and protest against the military. Since then, the military junta has relied on lethal force and repression to maintain control, countered by pro-democracy resistance forces, including the National Unity Government, People’s Defence Forces, and several ethnic armed organizations.
Their resistance has come at a heavy price. As of 25 December 2025, 7,632 people have been confirmed killed by the junta and a total of 30,193 people have been arrested, with 11,431 currently detained and 173 people have been sentenced to death. 629 children have been arrested and 982 children killed (AAPP). According to UNHCR report, the number of displaced people in the country and across borders is over 3.6 million and growing as young people leave the country to escape from forced conscription in the army.
From 27 January – 8 February 2026, the photography and art exhibition “The Coup Years”, curated by creators Yit and Ji Ji, will present a review of the last five years of the coup and the indomitable spirit of resistance of the people of Myanmar. Organized by SEA Junction, the exhibition will be located on the 5th Floor, Curved Wall of the BACC. The exhibition curated:
- A series of photograph by photographers Sis Min Naing, Loki, Phoenix and Ko Kaung, portrays the evolving of the situation in Myanmar from the coup in 2021 to November 2025. This collective artistic and documentary expression, accompanied by musical arrangements by Daniel Saw with the voices of the unfairly oppressed citizens, turns the pages of times to write an history of the living and breathing hopes of those fighting for democracy.
- The Butterflies’ Interactive Projection transforms abstract numbers into a living visual experience becoming a memorial for all those who have lost their lives in the struggle for freedom as represented in colorful butterflies. Visitors contribute by coloring butterfly sheets, which are then scanned and projected in real time, joining a dynamic swarm that fills the
Artists’ Bio
Sis Min Naing (Photographer)
Sis Min Naing is a Myanmar photographer whose work documents human emotion and social truth amid the country’s struggle for democracy. A former political prisoner, his images stand as powerful testimony and historical evidence of the people’s resistance and resilience.
Loki (Photographer)
Loki is a Myanmar photographer and visual storyteller whose work focuses on candid and
documentary images of resistance and everyday life. Since the 2021 military coup, he has
documented street protests in Yangon and continues to share the reality of the revolution
through his platform, Revolution Photographs.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1FwWJYqq62/
https://youtube.com/@rebel-uz7cv?si=o-QF72VELhFD1ld1
Ko Kaung (Photographer)
Ko Kaung is a Myanmar photojournalist who has documented labor movements, student
protests, and the military’s violent repression of civilians. A former political prisoner, his work stands as a powerful record of resistance and human cost under dictatorship.
Phoenix (Photographer)
Phoenix is a Myanmar photographer and journalist whose work centers on truth-telling under repression. A former political prisoner, he continues to document Myanmar’s realities as a freelance reporter.
Daniel Saw (Musician)
Daniel Saw is an award-winning Myanmar composer and music producer in exile in Thailand. His work gives voice to lived experience through music shaped by emotion, resistance, and hope
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7R7EChauYjs7lmAeBDtLwA
Yit (Filmmaker/ Curator)
Yit is an independent filmmaker and curator from Myanmar, currently based in Thailand, whose work encompasses documentaries, short films, and exhibitions developed in exile. As a co-director of the Berlinale award-winning Myanmar Diaries https://myanmardiaries.com/ , he is dedicated to telling powerful human stories that bridge personal emotion and pressing social realities.
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: The exhibition is free, donations are welcome to support SEA Junction activities.
Organizer
SEA Junction
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organisation 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 Twitter (X), Bluesky and Instagram @seajunction
