Hosted by Vietnamese Boat People and Co-sponsored by Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU

“Mother, Métis, Memory” is a documentary film by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn

Throughout the First Indochina War, between 1945-1954, France mobilized an estimated 60,000 tirailleurs in Vietnam. Tirailleurs, or Senegalese soldiers, were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army and among the forces deployed to Indochina to combat the Vietnamese uprising against French rule. After the beginning of the end of the French Empire, hundreds of Vietnamese women and their children migrated to West Africa with Senegalese husbands, some voluntarily but others against their will. Some soldiers left their wives and took only their children, while others took children not their own and raised them in Senegal without connection to their Vietnamese origins. This powerful film captures interviews conducted in 2018 with the Senegalese-Vietnamese communities in Dakar and Malika Senegal.

The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker and VBP Podcast Host Tracey Nguyễn Mang as part of the Podcast Season 6 theme, Ba, Mẹ ơi (Dear Dad and Mom).

This film will give viewers a glimpse into Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s exhibition that will be opening on June 29, 2023, at the New Museum 235 Bowery in New York City. This will be Nguyễn’s first solo museum exhibition in the U.S., showcasing a new film and two recent video projects alongside works from the artist’s broader practice.

Doors Open at 4:00 PM welcome reception. Film Screening will begin at 4:30 PM followed by Q&A.

About the Artist:

Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s practice explores the power of memory and its potential to act as a form of political resistance. His practice is fueled by research and a commitment to communities that have faced traumas caused by colonialism, war, and displacement. Through his continuous attempts to engage with vanishing or vanquished historical memory, Nguyễn investigates the erasures that the colonial project has brought to bear on certain parts of the world.

Nguyễn was born in Sài Gòn, Việt Nam, raised in California, and is now based primarily in Việt Nam. Nguyễn received a BFA from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and an MFA from The California Institute of the Arts in 2004. His work has been included in several international exhibitions including the Asia Pacific Triennial 2006, the Whitney Biennial 2017, the Sharjah Biennial 2019, and Berlin Biennale 2022.

Nguyễn received the 2023 Joan Miró Prize, one of the most prestigious contemporary art accolades in the world, which this year is being awarded by the Fundació Joan Miró with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Nguyễn will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Fundació Joan Miró, Spain in 2024.

Nguyễn also co-founded The Propeller Group in 2006, a platform for collectivity that situates itself between an art collective and an advertising company. The collective is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and works in conjunction with creative individuals in Los Angeles, California, United States.

About Vietnamese Boat People

Vietnamese Boat People (VBP) is a podcast and non-profit with the mission to preserve and carry forward the stories of the Vietnamese diaspora. We aim to educate and inspire listeners on the diaspora history of the Vietnamese community and connect people through stories of the human spirit. In addition to the podcast, our public programs empower people to preserve their own stories through storytelling workshops and events, story slams, community blogs, conversation kits, and journey mapping. The work of VBP helps to lift up marginalized voices and shine a light on untold stories.

About Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University

The Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University provides a space for the sharing of scholarship, art, activism, and other cultural and political exchanges about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New York City and beyond. Our community of staff, affiliated faculty and students, artists-in-residence, visiting scholars, and invited guests to cultivate dialogues about Asians and Pacific Islanders in the diaspora and across the world. We seek to understand the histories that have shaped Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, their lived experiences, and the solidarities they have formed. Through collaborative programming, research, exhibitions, publications, and archival projects, the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU promotes connections across heterogeneous communities and encourages interdisciplinary conversations that span Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas.

Time: 4:00-5:30

Free!

Registration