Showing 1 - 10 of 10
When students rise
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 28/10/2025
» Back in the mid-19th century, female education increased literacy and access to jobs and they began to fight for participation in public life. The public sphere promised them a new horizon. From the 1890s onwards, print media began to allow women to express their voice and authors vaunted personal talent and equality, including gender relations. Following the Siamese Revolution in 1932, women were enfranchised for the first time.
Written in blood
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/07/2025
» In 2015, Joe Freeman and Aung Naing Soe noticed the prominent status of poetry in Myanmar politics. At the time, both journalists heard that Maung Saungkha, a 23-year-old poet, posted a poem about having a tattoo of an unnamed president on his penis on Facebook. Saungkha, however, was charged for defaming former president Thein Sein under telecommunication law, serving a six-month jail term.
Rebirth in exile
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 30/06/2025
» On a poster, Phnom Penh glows dimly from afar. Flickering on the other side of the Mekong River, rows of buildings dissolve, blending with water and sky in the blue hour of twilight. This photo and a whisper are an invitation to stargaze the city glimmering in the distance.
Myanmar artists featured in 'Unsettled Journeys' show
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 15/05/2025
» Supples Gallery is presenting the group exhibition "Unsettled Journeys" to highlight the complex experience of six Myanmar artists currently living in Thailand in the wake of military crackdowns, forced conscription and the collapse of civil liberty.
Artists rally to save the Chao Mae Thap Thim Shrine
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 23/08/2023
» Hemmed in on all sides by construction, colourful paintings are nailed to the metal sheet fences of an age-old community. Inside, there is thoughtful mixed-media artwork, performances and memorabilia left behind in the wake of displacement. Artists are campaigning all-out for the protection of the Chao Mae Thap Thim Shrine ahead of a first court ruling that could result in demolition at the end of the month.
Memes of dissent
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/08/2023
» It is not as whimsical as it seems. After the onset of the largest pro-democracy movement since the military coup in 2014, university and high school students cuddled hamster dolls and ran around in circles. "Delicious tax!", hundreds of them sang, from a cartoon jingle at Democracy Monument in late July 2020. Crowdsourced from a social media platform, Hamtaro, a shorthand for caged mice demanding freedom, spawned many internet memes, including a greedy caricature of junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.
In pursuit of academic freedom
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 07/02/2022
» A temple is more than a place of worship. Located on a bank of the Chao Phraya River, Wat Thong Noppakhun is offering food for democratic thought. Surrounded by leafy trees, its library is now home to a large number of non-official history books, some of which are controversial in what remains a conservative society.
Lessons learned from the October uprising
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/10/2021
» When the Oct 14, 1973, uprising culminated in the collapse of the military dictatorship, Sutham Sangprathum, the former deputy interior minister who joined the protests at the age of 19, felt that it was the great victory for people, but gradually learned that it had not challenged the status quo.
Lessons of history
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/10/2021
» After decades of military authoritarianism, student demonstrators in Bangkok began to call for the restoration of constitutional rule and a return to democracy. In the face of the challenge, the entrenched generals refused to negotiate and arrested the protest leaders, claiming they were influenced by communism. It paved the way for the popular uprising of Oct 14, 1973.
Controversy amid camaraderie
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/03/2021
» In less than a year after its launch, Clubhouse is challenging the social media paradigm. From those old days when people tuned in to popular television and radio shows, now they can be invited by existing Clubhouse users to join virtual rooms where they can hear people speaking and raise hands to enter the discussion.