Gallery Talk: Experience of the Vietnamese Coming to America with Vinh Nguyen

Event Details

Join us for this unique gallery talk at the Des Moines Art Center—“Experience of the Vietnamese Coming to America” with Vinh Nguyen, President of Vietnamese American Community in Iowa. Senior Curator Laura Burkhalter will introduce the program and highlight three works in the permanent collections that are relevant to the Vietnamese diaspora: Pao Houa Her’s “Hmong Veteran, from ‘Attention’ series,” Danh Vo’s “Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma,” and (from the current exhibition “Time Travelers”) Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s “The Boat People.”

Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam War in the early 1960s. Growing up in a family of 10 brothers and sisters, he developed a strong sense of collaboration for success and helping others at a young age. Soon after the Vietnam War came to an end on April 30, 1975, life in South Vietnam changed completely as the government tried to put socialism and communism into practice. In summer 1981, Nguyen’s parents decided to have him escape from Vietnam to seek freedom and opportunities for his future. He was smuggled out of Vietnam along with another 134 Vietnamese on a tiny, less than seaworthy boat, but their vessel was fortunate enough to be finally saved by an oil tanker, and they were sent to a refugee camp in Thailand. He later was accepted by the United States and resettled in Des Moines, Iowa.

Public guided tours are offered every Saturday from 1 – 2 pm. Free; no registration required.

Image: Vinh Nguyen