Yangon Photo Festival 2019: The Price of Jade
17 February–4 March 2019
Maha Bandoola Park
In this exhibition, part of the much larger Yangon Photo Festival, photographer Minzayar Oo has been documenting Myanmar’s hardly accessible jade mines for years. Ninety percent of the world’s highest-quality jade comes from Kachin State. This trade is worth billions of dollars annually. According to studies by international watch groups, only a small fraction of the profits benefit the country’s citizens. The jade mining industry is also responsible for huge environmental damage, corruption, conflict, and drug addiction, and poses one of the most challenging issues that Myanmar faces. This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Natural Resource Governance Institute.
In this exhibition, part of the much larger Yangon Photo Festival, photographer Minzayar Oo has been documenting Myanmar’s hardly accessible jade mines for years. Ninety percent of the world’s highest-quality jade comes from Kachin State. This trade is worth billions of dollars annually. According to studies by international watch groups, only a small fraction of the profits benefit the country’s citizens. The jade mining industry is also responsible for huge environmental damage, corruption, conflict, and drug addiction, and poses one of the most challenging issues that Myanmar faces. This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Natural Resource Governance Institute.