Chuu Wai
- ART & CITIZENSHIP
*1992, Shan State, Myanmar. Lives and works in Paris, France
Residency period : July to August 2026
Artists, Painting, textile art, mixed media, large-scale community murals
In partnership with the Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Chuu Wai is a Paris-based artist known for her bold visual narratives that challenge power structures and redefine cultural identity. Her multidisciplinary practice spans painting, textile-based works, and mixed media, incorporating elements of historical archives, personal memory, and political resistance. Through her work, she navigates the intersections of gender, displacement, and societal transformation, often using imagery sourced from vintage photographs and newspaper clippings to connect past and present struggles.
Born and raised in Myanmar, Chuu Wai belongs to the Shan ethnic minority. Forced into exile following the 2021 military coup, she relocated first to Ukraine, and then to France — where she has continued to build an international practice rooted in the realities of displacement, resistance, and the social position of women. Her journey, from Yangon to Kyiv to Paris, has profoundly shaped both the content and urgency of her work.
Chuu Wai’s career has been marked by significant achievements. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the British Museum in London, and she received the Minority Artist Award from the UNHCR in Geneva. Her work is currently exhibited at the Museum of Ethnography (MEG) in Geneva as part of the Encounters exhibition. Over the years, she has exhibited in more than 30 international shows across cities including London, Berlin, Paris, Venice, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
Beyond the gallery, Chuu Wai is a committed community muralist. She has led large-scale participatory murals in Marseille, Zurich, Berlin, Annonay, Le Havre, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok — each one built from deep engagement with local communities before a single brushstroke goes on the wall. Her most recent mural, completed in Bangkok in 2026 in collaboration with SEA Junction and the ILO, gave voice to migrant workers in Thailand.
Her artwork has been featured in prominent media outlets including Time Magazine, BBC News, VOA, RFA, and Japan’s NHK TV channel. Her work is included in research publications from Oxford University Press, and she has collaborated with institutions including the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Oxford University, the Fearless Collective, Chiang Mai University, and the London School of Economics.
Chuu Wai studied Fine Art, IT Engineering, and 3D Modeling in Computer Graphics. She continuously expands the boundaries of contemporary artistic expression, integrating traditional hand-crafted fabrics, drawing, and expressive brushstrokes with digital innovation — bridging cultural heritage with emerging technologies while challenging dominant narratives and fostering dialogue across diverse audiences.
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