Yangon’s art scene continued its progressive momentum over the weekend as it welcomed the Walks of Life art exhibition at Think Art Gallery.





A unique collaboration between Sweden’s Unstraight Perspectives project and Myanmar artists, the exhibition tackles a subject rarely pictured: the lives and testimonies of the Golden Land’s LGBT community.

More than 120 stories are brought to life, featuring subjects from across the country’s wide spectrum of religions, backgrounds, regions and sexual identities.

Unstraight Perspectives, a project run jointly by several museums and funded by the Swedish Institute, works to document and exhibit art from the LGBT community in countries such as Serbia, Macedonia, Russia, Cambodia and Vietnam. Walks of Life marks the group’s entrance into Myanmar.

Running through December 23, the exhibition is intimate – after just a few minutes inside the gallery on Nawaday Street, you might find yourself deep in conversation with some of the artists. Take, for example Min Thuyain – standing before his photograph of a doll at the show, Min Thuyain told The Myanmar Times that the subject was a gift from his boyfriend.

He described the challenges facing people like him in a socially conservative climate.

“I wear men’s clothing but my identity is swaying,” he said.





“In Myanmar, many people who do not express their gender or love according to social and cultural expectation are mistreated – they say we ‘oppose nature’. But LGBT life is not our choice. It is who we are.”

His feelings were echoed by La Min Maung and Pyi Phyo Kyaw, a gay couple visiting the gallery on December 3.

They described how they met on Facebook two years ago, soon after digital dating became a viable option in Myanmar.

It afforded them freedom to share their love away from prying eyes.

“When we go out in public, some people look at us with disdain because we are LGBT,” La Min Maung said.

“But we are trying to change that negative perception. We are the same as anyone else.”

Pyi Phyo Kyaw described a familial struggle, as parents initially refused to accept that their son was gay.

“They wanted me to be manly, but I was interested in homosexuality,” Pyi Phyo Kyaw said. “So I choose LGBT life. At first they did not understand, but gradually, they came to accept us.”

For Ma Ma, a trans-woman who arrived in traditional Myanmar htamein, said the exhibition made her feel connected with the rest of the LGBT community.

She underwent her transition at age 40, and over 10 years later, she still marvels at the joy her new life has given her.

“I wanted to be a woman since I was 17 years old,” she said. “It was hard to keep my true self inside. Now I am so happy – I will live the trans-life until I die.”

To see the gallery and hear the LGBT community’s stories, visit Think Art Gallery between now and December 23.