Happy New Year to everyone. As I reflect upon the path Kinnari Center has taken thus far in the past year, I came to recognition that a collaborative effort with the community of artists is the key and essential direction that is needed for the original mission to become realized. Hence I renamed the project to Burma Arts Collaborative to reflect this vision. “Burma” instead of “Burmese” is used so as to be inclusive of all the cultures and peoples of Burma, and “Collaborative” is applied to really emphasize on the collective nature of the efforts, and value for the coming together of each individual creative independence that is crucial for many artists to express themselves.
The official website has been updated and new programs added, with a ‘boost’ to the existing online programs. The center is ready to get back on its feet again after the long break. Some of the recent updates have been:
A Movie Showcase that will feature Burmese movies online for viewers to watch, and films about Burma. Most of these will be obtained from other public sources on the world wide web. Current movie is “Mystery of Snow” starring Lwin Moe.
Updated information on the site pages
A new schedule of upcoming programs for KIC! (Kinnari Internet Channel) featuring a documentary on Burmese New Year 2008 in Fremont, and the online powerpoint presenation class on Elements of Dance: History of Dance in Burma. More offerings will be scheduled in the near future.
Updated calendar of Burmese arts and cultural events throughout the United States, available on the home page.
The formal executive meeting will be postponed as the travel schedule of all members do not coincide well this year. However, there will be an informal meeting to assure continuation of progress in the development of the site and online services. The next step will also be to contact identified and known Burmese artists in the community to start building the network of creative individuals who would be featured and consulted for the currently available online programs, as well as possible e-newsletter in the future. The list will be confirmed and posted once the artists agreed to the collaborative work.
Kinnari Center has been on hiatus for past few months as other community concerns have taken priority. We will continue to be on hiatus for an indefinite length of time. However, in the background, we are continuing to build and organize the center’s initial infrastructure.
We have changed from a podcast service to a live online radio show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kcr . We have a few programs lined up. Do check them out! You can call in and join in the discussions. We prefer this as it’s much more interactive than a regular podcast that is pre-recorded.
We are still finalizing our website and the organization as a whole so we apologize for some of the inconveniences and constant changes that might happen during this process. We are looking forward to the day when we can officially launch our center and the programs we have to the community.
A meeting is scheduled to occur in September of this year. This will be the first official and coordinated meeting since the concept and vision of the center is created by the founder. Date is to be determined. Meanwhile, recruitment of more advisors is going on. A few prospective candidates have been named and nominated, and recruitment process will begin once the Cyclone Nargis crisis relief efforts by Bay Area community is implemented and stabilized.
The initial drafts of the articles of incorporation, the bylaws material, and the strategic plan are currently being written, and to be presented for discussion and further revision during the first executive meeting.
Venue-Gallery Lounge, 510 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Suggested Donation-$10 though no one turned away at door.
Event includes free Burmese appetizers, music, Burmese ethnic dance performance, raffle prizes, guest speaker, and happy hour drink specials at cash bar. All donations will go towards American Red Cross International Relief Fund (with intent stated for Burma Cyclone Relief).
Please help out in any way you can. Burma is poor enough. The people can’t recover without your help.
Even basic needs like WATER is so limited!!!
Contact your Red Cross or UN Humanitarian Assistance programs or organize a community response to gather donations of money or basic items (clothing, food, water, etc.) and find ways to send them over the people of Burma if you can. I’m sure any help will be good help. Thank you so much!
We’ve finally tested and launched our podcast channel. You can visit our Interactive Media site to listen in. The pilot podcast was a mix of Burmese national anthem instrumental music, a traditional ‘pwe’ or performance music piece, and a Shan drums song, aired on April 25th. We recently aired on April 30th our first poetry readings of selected works from Burmese poets Aung Phone Myint and Maung Yin Hmuu. We will be adding podcasts on a weekly basis. Tune in regularly for more and the latest.
Burmese New Year and Thingyan came and ended rather quickly here at the center. We sold Chicken Satay at a Thingyan festival in Daly City. There are still Thingyan festivals going on in the Bay Area, and in other parts of the United States, as well. The month of April is full of food, fun, music and gatherings as Overseas Burmese celebrate one of the most important festivals in our culture, and try to keep our heritage in foreign lands.
We have updated our website recently, and will continue to do so as the center is being shaped and formed. We also recruited a treasurer on our Board of Directors. Do visit the center’s home pages for more information. There are also plans to create an event calendar to track cultural and art events in the Bay Area, and whenever possible, in the whole of United States, so that you can check them out as they occur. We hope to connect you to the wide variety of cultural and art events that are out there. If you have any events that you are organizing, feel free to contact us at admin[at]burmesearts[dot]org and we will post it on our calendar.
Kinnara is a mythical half human-half bird celestial being in Burmese folklore, also common in Southeast Asian Buddhist mythology in other cultures, such as Thai and Hindu. The story tells of a beautiful love-story between two such beings. The female form of this being is called Kinnari. She is a symbol of art and literature, dance, song and poetry, feminine beauty, grace, and lastly, accomplishment. We pick this name because it encompasses all that we value: arts and literature, music, culture, beauty, education and progress.
Below is a video clip of the Burmese version of Kinnara-Kinnari dance:
