Artist: David Burke
Website: www.dburke.org
Exchange: Laos
David Burke is a muralist and educator based in Oakland, California. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Currently, Burke is the Art Director for the Superheroes Mural Project in Oakland, and recently co-founded the Autobody Bridge Program for emerging San Francisco Bay Area artists. In 2009, Burke was a visiting lecturer in painting at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, where he worked closely with art students and faculty for eighteen months.
Burke understands that the role of the muralist is not to impose one’s own vision onto a space, but instead to translate the communal vision by listening to a diverse range of voices and ideas and allowing these contributions to shape the spirit of the project. Every community has a unique story to tell, and Burke’s goal is to incorporate the rich histories of the people into murals that celebrate and acknowledge both the past and present while inspiring hope for the future.
The Latest from David Burke
Seeds of Change
A few hours after landing in Vientiane, I attended an exhibition called Turning Points at Ban Naxay Gallery that featured the work of three Lao artists. There was some tension in the air that night. I learned from one of the artists that because of the nontraditional...
Small Grants Awarded in Laos as Government Approves Mural Project!
We have awarded the third round of the American Arts Incubator “small grants” to local Lao artists and organizations. The public presentation of the projects was hosted by i:cat Gallery and was attended by over thirty local artists, leaders, and curious members of the...
Plastic City
I arrived in Laos with three rules for myself; stay open, ask questions, and listen. Once people started talking, the same issue kept coming up: the accumulation of trash around the city. Laos is a developing country that is in the throes of robust economic and urban...
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