Introduction

Ma Hnin is a Burmese-Australian human rights activist and the founder and director of "A New Burma", an organisation dedicated to empowering Myanmar’s marginalised and exiled communities through creative resistance, advocacy, and public engagement. Born in Mon State, Myanmar, she was separated from her parents both exiled for their opposition to the military regime and later reunited with them in a refugee camp along the Thai–Burmese border. She resettled in Melbourne, Australia. Carrying with her a lived history of political exile, displacement, and resistance.

Through "A New Burma", Ma Hnin works at the intersection of art, activism, and exile. The organisation emerged from Myanmar’s global diaspora of artists, activists, and cultural workers, and curates collaborative exhibitions that tour internationally. These exhibitions serve as platforms for art-based resistance and storytelling, amplifying the voices of those challenging military oppression and advocating for justice, memory, and democratic futures. Her dedication was recognised with her inclusion in the 2022 Victorian Honour Roll of Women as a Change Agent.