The undergraduate student population at Parami University is growing, and student-led clubs are also increasing. Undergraduate students turn their interests and creative ideas into engaging and impactful activities and build connections with like-minded students across the university's virtual campus. Laid-Back, Art, and Philosophy Club (LAPC) is one of the new clubs founded this academic year. The LAPC club features those who embrace a laid-back lifestyle and are passionate about art and philosophy.
In this interview, the LAPC club members are excited to give an insight into the inspiration for the club's founding and recently published publications.
Question: Tell us about your club.
LAPC: We are lapc - not laphat. LAPC stands for Laid-Back, Art, and Philosophy Club. We are running with 11 members from different regions of Myanmar and different parts of the world. We have two types of members: contributing members and permanent members. Contributing members are virtual members from different parts of the world, while permanent members are the students from Rangoon. We are a club that cherishes cultural diversity through in-person meetings and virtual engagement. We’ve started our publications as our main activity, but there are other upcoming projects, including podcasts, special edition publications, and theater projects.
For laidback activities - we will play board games in bi-weekly meetups. For art purposes, we will always have an in-person artist meet-up and art gallery visit on the same day. For philosophy, our publications, podcasts, and theater projects reflect the lessons we learned in our classes in our style.
Question: What was the inspiration behind the founding of this club?
LAPC: To reflect our learning with creative twists, we will use art forms while adding our own unique philosophy. The publications will be bimonthly; the first edition will focus on reflections in words of what we have learned this month from our classes, expressed with a twist. However, for the next issue, we will reflect on the lessons we learned and express our own reflections in more creative ways. These expressions will include but are not limited to photos, drawings, paintings, poems, and performance art.
Question: What is your club looking to achieve through each publication?
LAPC: We aim to create an atmosphere where we belong by using different creative mediums while reflecting on what we learned in the classes. Our club’s exploration objectives are as follows:
To create diverse and inventive club activities that aid art, philosophy, and cultural appreciation.
To foster an active interest in art and philosophy for the local and global communities.
To build an atmosphere where the students can responsibly express their creativity.
To seek collaborative solutions to self-expression through art that "does no harm."
To highlight the value of in-person communications in virtual environments, you, through in-person gatherings.
To create everlasting university student memories.
Question: How do you feel about the launch of your club's first publications? Could you share an overview of the publications?
LAPC: Well, the publications were produced during our team's pilot period, so they are different from the upcoming publications. In the pilot period, we began by learning about the contemporary art history of Burma and how art is interwoven with these cultural scenes. At the moment, we are focusing on biweekly publications. The first will be the reflections of the lessons learned from classes in words, but the latter will be more focused on expressing these lessons in our own creative ways.
Question: Who are the publications for?
LAPC: Our targeted audience is not just everyone from Parami but a wider international audience because we, Parami students, want to present Myanmar's issues and culture on a global stage.
LAPC’s message to the audience:
LAPC will serve as Doaremon’s anywhere door. You can see and feel us through our pieces. ―Nyan Htet, Deputy Chief of LAPC’s Communications
Sometimes, the results may not be satisfactory for you, but please criticize us. ―LUMI, Poetry Chair of LAPC
Politics is complex. So are Myanmar's problems and culture. Our podcasts will explore the application of political and social theories in Myanmar context. Stay tuned. ―Zin Wai Yan, A Scholar from LAPC