Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora
The clash between an exile community making art and the expectations of others

A groundbreaking exploration of how diasporic Burmese artists navigate the intricate intersections of art, politics, and humanitarianism, Performing Vulnerability delves into the complexities of vulnerability as both a personal and a performative act. These diasporic artists, exiled due to state repression and political turmoil, find themselves in a precarious balance between expressing their traumas and engaging with the international art market’s expectations. They use their bodies as canvases to communicate the scars of surveillance, imprisonment, and censorship inflicted by their home state while simultaneously confronting the commodification of their suffering by global humanitarian industries.

Through their performances, these artists challenge the traditional narratives of victimhood and resilience, offering a nuanced portrayal of what it means to live and create in exile. Their work disrupts the easy consumption of suffering, instead inviting audiences to sit in the discomfort of these lived realities. Performing Vulnerability not only provides a critical examination of the economic and social value placed on representations of suffering but also opens a dialogue on the ethical implications of this value within the global arts and humanitarian markets. It is a vital contribution to discussions on diaspora, performance studies, and the politics of humanitarianism, offering a fresh lens through which to view the entangled relationships between art, suffering, and survival.

1146441803
Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora
The clash between an exile community making art and the expectations of others

A groundbreaking exploration of how diasporic Burmese artists navigate the intricate intersections of art, politics, and humanitarianism, Performing Vulnerability delves into the complexities of vulnerability as both a personal and a performative act. These diasporic artists, exiled due to state repression and political turmoil, find themselves in a precarious balance between expressing their traumas and engaging with the international art market’s expectations. They use their bodies as canvases to communicate the scars of surveillance, imprisonment, and censorship inflicted by their home state while simultaneously confronting the commodification of their suffering by global humanitarian industries.

Through their performances, these artists challenge the traditional narratives of victimhood and resilience, offering a nuanced portrayal of what it means to live and create in exile. Their work disrupts the easy consumption of suffering, instead inviting audiences to sit in the discomfort of these lived realities. Performing Vulnerability not only provides a critical examination of the economic and social value placed on representations of suffering but also opens a dialogue on the ethical implications of this value within the global arts and humanitarian markets. It is a vital contribution to discussions on diaspora, performance studies, and the politics of humanitarianism, offering a fresh lens through which to view the entangled relationships between art, suffering, and survival.

30.0 In Stock
Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora

Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora

by Emily L. Hue
Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora

Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora

by Emily L. Hue

Paperback

$30.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 1-2 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

The clash between an exile community making art and the expectations of others

A groundbreaking exploration of how diasporic Burmese artists navigate the intricate intersections of art, politics, and humanitarianism, Performing Vulnerability delves into the complexities of vulnerability as both a personal and a performative act. These diasporic artists, exiled due to state repression and political turmoil, find themselves in a precarious balance between expressing their traumas and engaging with the international art market’s expectations. They use their bodies as canvases to communicate the scars of surveillance, imprisonment, and censorship inflicted by their home state while simultaneously confronting the commodification of their suffering by global humanitarian industries.

Through their performances, these artists challenge the traditional narratives of victimhood and resilience, offering a nuanced portrayal of what it means to live and create in exile. Their work disrupts the easy consumption of suffering, instead inviting audiences to sit in the discomfort of these lived realities. Performing Vulnerability not only provides a critical examination of the economic and social value placed on representations of suffering but also opens a dialogue on the ethical implications of this value within the global arts and humanitarian markets. It is a vital contribution to discussions on diaspora, performance studies, and the politics of humanitarianism, offering a fresh lens through which to view the entangled relationships between art, suffering, and survival.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780295753614
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication date: 06/10/2025
Pages: 316
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Emily L. Hue is assistant professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside.

What People are Saying About This

Mimi Thi Nguyen

"An important contribution to emplotting the economies of vulnerability that demand a particular performance of legible suffering from Burmese refugee or exilic artists, and the aesthetic strategies these artists deploy against their capture, not just by successive Burmese regimes but also by the global humanitarian industry and international arts market."

Chie Ikeya

"An illuminating study of displaced Burmese artists in the United States who wrestle with the demand for racialized and gendered reenactments of suffering in exchange for arts and humanitarian investment. Its rumination on the artists’ performances, including self-inflicted gagging and binding, offers a nuanced analysis of the coercive tactics of the arts and humanitarian industries that condition yet cannot contain the terms of freedom of expression and movement."

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews