On the Threshold

Insight Myanmar · Mar 30, 2026 · 2h 9m

Episode #510: “I'm not an activist,” says Bart Was Not Here, a Burmese artist whose politically oriented work reflects a life shaped by dictatorship and displacement. He argues that art creates a space where memory, humor, fear, and imagination can coexist, allowing both artist and viewer to navigate political realities in ways that ordinary language cannot.

Bart sees current global politics as part of a wider shift toward more extreme forms of power. Myanmar’s experience, he explains, no longer feels unique but echoes developments now taking place elsewhere. This awareness shapes both his…