Following the devastating 7.7 earthquake on 28 March in Myanmar, the country's art community—both at home and in exile—has mobilized fundraising efforts to support relief and rebuilding, deliberately bypassing the ruling Tatmadaw junta. Curator Kyel Sin Lin is auctioning a work by prominent artist Htein Lin depicting the epicenter Sagaing and the collapsed Ava Bridge, while galleries in Yangon such as The Collector Art Gallery, Sar Ga Gallery, and Nawaday Tharlar Gallery are holding earthquake relief sales. In Hong Kong, 10 Chancery Lane raised $13,000 through a fundraising night and online sale of works by Moe Satt and Htein Lin, and Karin Weber Gallery is selling a painting by Burmese Modernist San Win to benefit the educational non-profit Prospect Burma.
This story matters because it highlights how Myanmar's art world is leveraging its networks and cultural capital to provide humanitarian aid in a crisis, while consciously avoiding state channels controlled by an internationally isolated junta. The earthquake has compounded the devastation of a civil war and previous natural disasters, making grassroots and diaspora-led relief efforts critical. The involvement of figures like former ambassador Vicky Bowman and the support of Hong Kong galleries underscore the transnational solidarity that sustains Myanmar's artistic community amid ongoing political turmoil and infrastructural collapse.