The “Cartooning for Myanmar” project, set up by Info Birmanie and Visual Rebellion and supported by the City of Paris, brings together 7 Burmese cartoonists in exile who are determined to bear witness to what is happening in their country and to learn about press cartooning, by offering them the chance to get involved in a project to create an exhibition tracing the situation in Myanmar since the military coup of 1 February 2021 through press cartoons.
Cartooning for Peace has been asked to explore the possibilities of linking press cartoonists from its network with these Burmese cartoonists, who are isolated and keen to exchange with the outside world, in order to help them build their skills.
With the support of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Cartooning for Peace is taking part in this project by offering capacity-building sessions (drawing/journalistic approach) to 7 Burmese cartoonists in exile. Led by Filipino cartoonist Zach and Taiwanese cartoonist Stellina, the sessions take place online from June 2024 to March 2025. They cover topics such as the tools of a press cartoonist, press cartoonist as a journalist, artist and humorist, the partnership relationship with a media outlet, the framework of freedom of expression and existing support and protection mechanisms, etc. The aim of these sessions is to break down isolation, support creativity and encourage cartoonists to bear witness through press cartoons. Zach and Stellina will monitor the progress of the cartoons produced by the Burmese cartoonists throughout the project (see below).
Finally, from the Cartooning for Peace network, Paresh (India), Wilcox (Australia), Kak (France), President of the organisation, Tjeerd Royaards (Netherlands) and Emanuele Del Rosso (Italy), share their experience as professional cartoonists.
You can find the cartoons of the 7 Burmese artists working on this project on the social media Facebook, Instagram and X @Cartooning4Myanmar.
Myanmar, a country that has endured decades of dictatorship since its independence in 1948, has a long tradition of press cartoons. In the aftermath of the military coup of 1 February 2021, painting and drawing became powerful means of expression against the junta, to bear witness to a repression that could no longer be shown in images, as the media and the people photographed risked too much repression. Doesn’t press cartooning allow you to “shout to the world with a drawing”, as a young Burmese cartoonist put it? But how do you draw when you live under the yoke of the junta or have gone into exile in the face of the brutality of a regime that kills, destroys and isolates?
Throughout the sessions, Cartooning for Peace aims to support the creativity of Burmese cartoonists and encourage them to use press cartoons to bear witness to what they wish to express. The aim is to enable these young cartoonists to bear witness, to inform about what is happening in Myanmar and to challenge the international community through press cartoons, bypassing censorship and bans.
Cartoon: T.H.A (Myanmar)
