NHỮNG CÂU CHUYỆN LITTLE SAIGON

The Little Saigon Stories is a community arts program facilitated by Media Arts Center San Diego, the AjA Project, with the help of the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association and Little Saigon San Diego Foundation. As a youth educational program, the Little Saigon Mobile Museum trains Vietnamese American youth to capture the stories of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants that make up San Diego’s designated Little Saigon District on El Cajon Boulevard. Such stories provide first-hand perspective on the process of migration, resettlement, and home-making amongst old and new residents who have chosen City Heights to call home.

Những Câu Chuyện Little Saigon là một chương trình nghệ thuật cộng đồng ra đời do Media Arts Center San Diego, AjA Project, với sự hỗ trợ của El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association và Little Saigon San Diego Foundation. Như một chương trình giáo dục thanh thiếu niên, Chuyện của Little Sài Gòn này nhằm đào tạo thanh thiếu niên Mỹ gốc Việt cách nắm bắt các câu chuyện về người tỵ nạn và di dân Việt, những người đã xây dựng nên khu vực Little Sài Gòn trên Đại lộ El Cajon. Những câu chuyện này giúp chúng ta hình dung những viễn ảnh ban đầu của quá trình di dân, tái định cư và an cư của các cư dân cũ mới, những người đã chọn City Heights này làm nhà.

LOOK AT THE LITTLE SAIGON STORIES BOOK HERE

CARTER DUONG

JOSEPH HÀQUANG

AMI IKEDA

CATHERINE NGUYỄN

SABRINA PHẠM-VŨ

The first part of the program invited the participants to examine their own relationship to Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American culture and identity. Each participant used the camera and symbolism as a tool, to create a collection of images that reflect their understanding of race, culture and ethnicity.

STUDENT PORTFOLIOS

The second part of the program invited participants to interview members of the Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American Community of City Heights, specifically the business and organizations along the newly designated Little Saigon District. Through this process the participants created the beginnings of intergenerational archive that highlights the Vietnamese migrant community that is thriving in City Heights.

STUDENT PORTFOLIOS + INTERVIEWS

EXHIBITION: LITTLE SAIGON DISTRICT

The final exhibition for the project took place in a store located right in heart of the Little Saigon District. Its was the goal of Teaching Artists, Rizzhel Javier, to make sure the work was accessible to the community. The large window front, and eye catching painting, drew many locals to the exhibition with over 250 visitors.

“It’s weird when I am around Vietnamese kids at church
cause they all speak Vietnamese better than me, they know everything better than me, and it’s just not fair.

Thật là kỳ khi tôi tiếp cận với đám trẻ con Việt Nam ở Nhà Thờ, vì chúng đều nói tiếng Việt tốt hơn tôi, chúng biết nhiều thứ hơn tôi, thật là không công bằng. .”

— Joseph Haquang

We’re not really getting deep into the culture other than the basics of some of some of the foods and the dances. I feel like it’s hard to get the authentic culture. I think documentation of daily life is equally important to show a full picture.
Chúng ta không đào sâu vào văn hóa hơn những thứ cơ bản của vài thực phẩm và vài điệu múa. Tôi cảm thấy khó mà nắm bắt được cái văn hóa đích thực. Tôi cho rằng tư liệu về cuộc sống thường nhật cũng quan trọng không kém để cho ta có được một bức ảnh toàn diện.
-Joseph Hàquang

-Joseph Haquang

EXHIBITION: FAIR 44

Over 150 images were displayed in outdoor exhibition, at the intersection of Fairmount Avenue and 44th Street in City Heights San Diego, at a corner better know as Fair and 44. Long strands of large images, accompanied by short stories, created a web across the spaces where locals frequently pass or stop for coffee.

Little Saigon Stories is community.

Meet the Guest Speakers.

Local photographers Johnny Nguyen and Ann Le join us as part of the, Creative Vietnamese Leaders of San Diego, with a presentation and Q&A of their work about culture, race and family origin.

Watch us in action.

Check out our press to learn about the project and team that made it happen. Watch videos of live interviews, hear directly from our participants, and get the chance to see the images on public display.

Meet the Teaching Artist.

Learn more about Rizzhel Javier and her experience working on the project, how it relates to her personal artwork and mission as an artist and educator growing up in San Diego, CA.

FUNDERS

Thank you.

This project was made possible by the participants of the Little Saigon Stories Project and The AjA Project. With funding from Media Arts Center San Diego, the Little Saigon Foundation, LISC San Diego, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, and funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and California Humanities.

Cảm ơn bạn.

Dự án này được tạo nên bởi những người tham gia Dự Án Chuyện của Little Sài Gòn (Little Saigon Stories Project) và The AjA Project. Với sự hỗ trợ từ Media Arts Center San Diego, Little Saigon Foundation, LISC San Diego, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, và sự tài trợ bởi National Endowment for the Arts and California Humanities.