We are thrilled to be hosted by our final location in Mandalay – the Jefferson Center. The center is a US-funded educational and cultural library located in the heart of Mandalay, facing the palace of the last King of Burma. We chose this location based on its outreach to young people from all over the region. Not only does it provide books, but also language training, debates, scholarship information, test-taking courses, and debates on politics, human rights and democracy.

We opened on Saturday, March 14 where we were greeted by over 50 students, professionals, artists and our volunteers. The director of the center, Saw Kyin Sein, welcomed us and asked everyone to join in sharing and discussing the books in the coming weeks.

Michelle Wong from Asia Art Archive will be joining us next week in our two-day programme with the theme Art and Politics. Michelle will discuss her own research and work at AAA on the Hong Kong Art History project, and artist Htein Lin will join us in Mandalay to present on his own experiences as an artist and the ways in which he values political messages, in both his life and his art.

Our invitation will be released shortly. Hope you all can join us there!