CURIOUS ACADEMY MYANMAR

A Curiosity-Based Learning Platform for Young Emerging Contemporary Art Practitioners in Myanmar

Program created by the School of Contemporary Art Project Myanmar-SOCA, with Organized and Supported by the Goethe-Institut Myanmar.

Initial Situation and Objective of the Measure

Myanmar’s contemporary art education faces significant challenges due to political instability, limited access to resources, and a scarcity of inclusive, experimental learning spaces. Formal art education still exists but in very limited way, with no interdisciplinary approach to engage with. Traditional teacher-centric models dominate, often emphasizing technical skill over conceptual exploration, and opportunities for dialogue, critical thinking, and cross-disciplinary exchange remain limited. Young artists struggle to access mentorship, international perspectives, and platforms that encourage experimentation and professional growth. At the same time, the local art community is eager to engage with new media, multimedia art, and collaborative practices that foster creativity, curiosity, and critical reflection.

This program investigates and critically examines the notion of curiosity in contemporary art-making, with a particular focus on new media and multimedia practices as key avenues for exploring and expressing curiosity. Centered on the idea of curiosity in contemporary art, the curriculum em- phasizes conceptual understanding alongside technical skill combining theory, practice and artistic research, encouraging participants to cultivate critical thinking, explore ideas collaboratively, and engage in constructive, reflective critique. Adopting a student-centered, bottom-up approach, the program fosters discursive learning, professional artistic development, and the confidence to question, experiment, and generate new knowledge. By integrating new media and multimedia prac- tices, the project aims to empower young artists to develop independent creative voices, advance their professional artistic careers, connect with global art discourse, and contribute to the growth of Myanmar’s evolving contemporary art landscape.

Procedure

A public call for applications will be launched through social media, partner networks, and art com- munities. The call will outline the program’s objectives, timeline, scholarship opportunities, and el- igibility criteria.

Program Implementation (December 2025 – February 2026)

Duration: 3 Months | Format: Hybrid (Online + Physical + Hybrid Sessions)

Modules:

• 
  Module I: Thinking with Curiosity: Cultivating curiosity as the foundation of
  
  creative thinking
  

• 
  Module II: Acting with Curiosity: Exploring curiosity through cross-disciplinary
  
  artistic approaches
  

• 
  Module III: Creating with Curiosity: Turning curiosity into experimental and
  
  multimedia-based artworks
  
  Each module combines lectures, artist talks, workshops, mentoring, and collaborative projects, and will be conducted by local and international artists, lecturers, and experts.
  
  ............................

Executive Summary

CURIOUS ACADEMY MYANMAR သည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတဝှမ်းရှိလူငယ်မျိုးဆက်သစ်များအတွက် နိုင်ငံတကာအနုပညာဆိုင်ရာအတွေ့အကြုံသစ်များနှင့် တီထွင်ဖန်တီးမှုအသိုင်းဝိုင်းသစ်များကို ပျိုးထောင်ရန်ရည်ရွယ်ပါသည်၊ လူမှုအသိုင်းဝိုင်းတွင် ညှိနှိုင်းတိုင်ပင်လုပ်ဆောင်တတ်ရန်နှင့် လက်တွေ့စမ်းသပ်စိတ်ကူးများစတင်ဖြစ်ရန်နှင့် ပေါင်းစပ်နားလည်မှုဆိုင်ရာအသိပညာရပ်များကိုဖလှယ်ရန်လည်းရည်ရွယ်ပါသည်။ သမားရိုးကျမဟုတ်သော အနုပညာသင်ကြားရေးနည်းလမ်းများကို ခေတ်ပြိုင်အနုပညာနည်းလမ်းသစ်များအခြေခံ၍သင်ကြားသွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။

CURIOUS ACADEMY MYANMAR is a new educational initiative by the School of Contemporary Art Project (SOCA) aimed at nurturing creativity, empathy, and critical thinking in young and adult people across Myanmar. Designed as an experimental and inclusive art education program, the Academy will offer alternative learning experiences through contemporary and socially engaged art practices.

In a time of deep cultural and educational disruption, CURIOUS ACADEMY provides a safe and inspiring space for young learners aged 8–16 to explore the world through imagination, play, and artistic expression. The Academy seeks to fill a critical gap in Myanmar’s education landscape by fostering curiosity, confidence, and care in a generation that will shape the future of their communities.

Through interdisciplinary workshops, collaborative projects, and mentorship from practicing artists and educators, the Academy encourages learners to see themselves not just as students, but as active thinkers, makers, and future cultural participants. CURIOUS ACADEMY will launch with a pilot phase in 2025, with plans to scale sustainably in partnership with local communities and cultural networks.

Objectives of the Project

CURIOUS ACADEMY MYANMAR is founded on the belief that art education can be a transformative force in the lives of young people, particularly in contexts of uncertainty, cultural fragmentation, and limited access to creative resources. The academy aims to:

1. Foster Creativity and Critical Thinking
   Encourage young learners to think independently, ask questions, and express themselves through diverse artistic languages.
   
   

2. Cultivate Empathy and Social Awareness
   Use art as a tool to connect with others, understand different perspectives, and engage with community and environmental issues.
   
   

3. Promote Curiosity and Lifelong Learning
   Create a safe and open space where exploration, experimentation, and wonder are central to the learning process.
   
   

4. Support Inclusive and Diverse Learning
   Reach children from varied ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds, with a special focus on underserved and marginalized communities.
   
   

5. Integrate Contemporary and Local Art Practices
   Introduce young learners to both global contemporary art and local artistic traditions through participatory and process-based experiences.
   
   

6. Build Confidence and Collaborative Skills
   Empower learners to share ideas, take creative risks, and work together through group projects and shared studio environments.
   …

Background & Rationale

In Myanmar, access to creative education remains limited, particularly for young learners outside major cities. The national curriculum continues to emphasize rote learning, with few opportunities for children to engage in critical thinking, emotional expression, or interdisciplinary exploration. At the same time, Myanmar's socio-political instability, economic hardship, and educational disruptions in recent years have further marginalized the cultural development of the next generation.

Amid these challenges, the role of art in fostering resilience, imagination, and community dialogue has become increasingly vital. Young people in Myanmar need not only access to formal education but also to spaces where they can play, imagine, question, and co-create meaningfully. Art can be one of the few open fields where empathy, experimentation, and connection thrive.

The School of Contemporary Art Project (SOCA) has been working since 2017 to promote alternative and socially engaged art practices in Myanmar. Through exhibitions, research, and experimental programs, SOCA has consistently challenged the boundaries of conventional art education and practice. CURIOUS ACADEMY MYANMAR builds on this foundation, extending SOCA's commitment to learning by centering the creative needs of children and youth.

This initiative responds to a growing need for safe, inclusive, and future-oriented learning environments—spaces that nurture the curiosity of young minds, support artistic experimentation, and offer community-based approaches to knowledge sharing. CURIOUS ACADEMY is not simply an art school; it is a pedagogical space where care, creativity, and criticality intersect.

By establishing this academy, SOCA envisions a new generation of cultural participants—children who grow up with a deepened sense of self, awareness of their communities, and the courage to imagine alternative futures.