Border Statements

Border Statements is a community arts organization that works on the China-Burma border areas of Yunnan Province in China. Based in Ruili City, Border Statements works with ethnic minority communities (Jing Po, Dai) that are affected by the [...] trade, human trafficking, and HIV/AIDS.

Border Statements was conceived in 2005 by Fu Guosheng and Elena Shih who traveled to the region together to attend a human trafficking conference. While conducting independent research in nearby village areas, they noticed the absence of cultural initiatives in response to [...] trafficking and HIV/AIDS. They identified the need for cultural preservation and production efforts to maintain the cultural vibrancy of the Jing Po people, as well as its usefulness in prevention of high-risk behavior among minority youth.

In 2006, Border Statement launched its pilot project - a community arts space in Ruili. Fu and Shih brought a group of volunteer artists and educators down to renovate the space and Run BASIC arts classes, in photography, drawing and sculpting for Jing Po youth and Burmese street youth.

Since then, Border Statements has been building its infrastructure, volunteer base and fundraising efforts in order to initiate more involved projects in the region, while continuing to run basic arts classes during the children’s holiday breaks. Border Statements is registered as a non-governmental organization in Hong Kong. In 2009, Border Statements began working closely with the Zero Capital arts collective, partnering with their artist studio and residency space in the adjacent city of Dali to create an artist exchange network in Yunnan province as well as in larger cities including Kunming, Shenzen, and Beijing.