




50 Years of HOPE and HA-HAs: Vietnamese American art exhibition
5 – 6PM
Vagabond presents “50 Years of HOPE and HA-HAs,” a Vietnamese American art exhibition that celebrates the expansiveness of the diaspora, rooted in the DMV. 2025 marks the 50-year anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam. The mainstream perception of Viets has remained unchanged for decades, rooted in the suffering of war, yet nothing about the community is static. In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “Beyond Vietnam,” Dr. King addressed the importance of understanding the Viet experience in saying, “we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.”
The exhibition offers counter narratives from the 1.5 and 2nd generation of Vietnamese Americans while uplifting the multi-cultural intersectionality of the diaspora. The theme of resilience is interwoven through joy, memorial, heritage, catharsis, solidarity, representation and community. The exhibition features visual art, poetry, video art, zines and music by Anthony Trung Quang Le, Antonius-Tín Bui and Theresa-Xuan Bui, Chanlee Luu, Hien Kat Nguyen, Jenn Tran, Jess Trúc My Nguyen, Khanh Aiden Nguyễn, Khánh H. Lê, Khoi Le, Kim Khouan Khong Sandara, Lộc “Leo” Nguyễn, Loc Huynh, Ngoc “Naomi” Le, Philippa Pham Hughes, Phượng-Duyên Hải Nguyễn, shawn williams, Thu Anh Nguyen, Valerie Plesch, superblooom, Vagabond and Vănguard.
This exhibition is funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ Art Exhibition Grant program and curated by Anthony Trung Quang Le and Philippa Pham Hughes. The exhibition follows Vagabond’s 2024 self-published art zine, supported by Wherewithal Grants and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Learn more at VagabondZine.com.