Last Updated on April 14, 2021 by Sunday Htoo
Story and photos by Sunday Htoo
After twenty years dreaming of his own place to work on his art, Saw Kennedy finally opened a studio in Peru, Indiana on April 10, 2021.
Saw Kennedy has at least 70 original works of art on display representing artists from Myanmar’s ethnic regions. A Karen art teacher from Norway, four other Karen art teachers in the U.S. and artists from Myanmar are included, of Karen, Mon, Arakanese, Burmese and Shan ethnicities.
Saw Kennedy opened his studio with help from Marlene Mickeson of the Miami County Artisan Gallery, whom he met February 25 at Logansport Art Association Black and White Show, where he received first place.
His goal in having a studio is to continue his artwork and to host art activities, classes and public exhibitions. Most importantly, he hopes to show the talents of artists from Myanmar and allow them to sell their own work. He chose Peru because it’s not expensive to operate a studio there and the facility allows him to work around his day job.
Saw Kennedy said he made important connections through the Logansport art show.
“I appreciated Sunday Htoo and Hsa Mu Lei for connecting me with the Logansport Art Association. I gained a huge boost to my confidence. I am so proud to be here in the United States. Even though we were once refugees, if we try and have confidence, if we have a strong vision of the future, and if we are passionate about our dreams, we will receive the most precious opportunity to continue working on our goals.”
Saw Kennedy said he plans to exhibit art in Logansport this summer.
Saw Kennedy is known as Thara (teacher) Lo Say among the youth in the Karen refugee camps. He is the son of Oo Saw Tun and Daw Naw Saw Kyi, born in Karen state in Burma, currently known as Myanmar. When he was little, there was always fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen army. His father was one of the most educated of the villagers, so people were planning to elect him the village leader. It was hard and dangerous to be a leader amid the fighting. So, the monk at the village told Saw Kennedy’s father that if he wanted to live a long life and provide an education and a future for his children, he should leave the village before he got elected. So, Saw Kennedy’s family moved to Mawlamyine in Mon state.
“When I was little, I saw my older brothers drawing so I wanted to draw, too,” Saw Kennedy said. “Their pictures were so lovely. I asked them how to draw and they started showing me and teaching me.”
In 1988, schooling was no longer offered because of the unrest in Burma. With no work or classes available, Saw Kennedy spent all his time drawing. When the school reopened in Burma, he graduated from No. 7 High School in 1993.
Saw Kennedy said, “I tried so hard, but my drawing was not as good as my brothers’ because they were already professionals. But later after they married, they left home to live in their wives’ villages and I was the only person still at home.”
People began to recognize his house as an art teacher’s house. One day, a Chinese man came and asked him to draw his late father’s portrait. Saw Kennedy tried to refuse many times, but this Chinese man begged him so he eventually agreed.
“I did not want to do it because I felt like I was not as good as my brothers and I was not certified in it. The only thing that made me happy was I could do something for him because he needed it and he paid me Burmese 500 Kyat. It was the first artwork that I worked on and that was in 1995.”
More people started coming to him to draw more portraits. He studied more whenever he had a chance to visit his brothers in Karen state. In 1996, he decided to open an art gallery back home with his brothers’ help.
One day he put a portrait of Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on display in his shop, an action the government at the time considered subversive. “The police told someone, and someone came and asked me to remove her picture,” he recalled. “I asked them, Why? I am not a politician. I just like drawing and it is just a picture. But I could not refuse and had to remove my picture. They looked for any mistake you made and if they wanted to give you trouble, they found a way; so I sought to leave Burma.”
Later, he got in touch with his cousin in Thailand and she connected him to a refugee camp to learn more English. There, he got a chance to teach art in Karen schools in the camp. He also worked with the Youth Development Center at No. 2 High School where he met two Americans from Colorado who were traveling around the world for a project. He is grateful for his friend, Jester Moon (Tha Ko Lo), a Karen singer and artist who introduced him to the couple.
In 2005 when the international community opened the door for refugees at the Thailand-Myanmar border, Saw Kennedy got a chance to resettle in the U.S with his family. He moved to Washington state in 2008, then to Fort Wayne in 2019 to be closer to his son and his son’s mother. He has participated in U.S. art exhibitions more than ten times.
He said, “Whenever I am doing art exhibitions, my goal is to show our cultures, our history, and at the same time to find a way for artists in Myanmar and the United States to get a chance to sell their artwork.”
“Every artist has their own muse,” he said. “For me, my muse is my son. Whenever I draw a picture, I think about him. When he was little, I drew him sleeping, playing, whatever he did.”
Saw Kennedy wants to encourage the next generation and anyone who likes to draw. “Whenever you live, love what you do and try your best, you will succeed,” he said.
To reach out to his studio, contact Marlene Mickeson, Miami County Artisan Gallery, 20 N Broadway, Peru, IN 46970. http://miamicountyartisangallery.com/
Cultural note: It is a tradition among the Karen people to use “Saw” for men’s name, similar to “Mr.”
Thank you to my English tutors, Sarah Einselen and Brian Newell, who helped with editing.
