All posts filed under: France

MIA Erasure, My Reflection

To much fanfare, the exhibit Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 opened in Minnesota at the Minneapolis Institute of Art this month and will run until January 5th, 2020. It’s billed as a way to look at “the innovative ways artists talked back, often in the streets and other public venues. The exhibition presents nearly 100 works by 58 of the period’s most visionary, provocative artists.” For Southeast Asians of Vietnamese, Hmong, Laotian, and Cambodian descent, and active military veterans, you can even see the exhibit for free. It’s been a long time since I’ve been given free admission to an art exhibit to witness the complete erasure of my community’s perspective and reactions to the Vietnam War, the Secret War, and the Killing Fields. For Minnesotans, who arguably have one of the most deeply tangled relationships with Southeast Asia than almost any other US state, this ought to be a stirring and profound exhibit: one filled with so many heartbreaking memories and reflections on themes and issues addressed over four decades ago, …

Alisa Phommahaxay Brings French Street Art to Vientiane

From January 6-15th, French street art takes residency in Vientiane as the French Institute (Institut Francais du Laos) hosts  “Art42, Hors Les Murs // Extramural : Vientiane”. The installation is organized by Lao French curator, Alisa Phommahaxay, who’s based in Paris. We briefly chat with Alisa about her work, how art inspires her and her upcoming exhibit. Tell us about yourself. How was it growing up? I was born in Paris, after my studies in Visual Arts at the Sorbonne University, I went to London and lived there for 5 years to work as a curator. Before coming back to Paris (Sept 2015) I went to Vientiane for 4 months, I was fortunate to give some courses and do an exhibition at the National Institute of Fine Arts under “Introduction to Contemporary Art”. I’ve been back to Paris for a year and half now. My parents are both from Laos. My mother is from Luang Prabang and my father is from Vientiane. It is an important factor for why I’m doing all this art projects in Laos. …