October 10, 2007

Smithsonian exhibit at Viet Art Center
Vietnamese American images at Garden Grove gallery.
By DEEPA BHARATH
The Orange County Register

GARDEN GROVE – The image of a Vietnamese child sitting in a refugee tent in Camp Pendleton and watching an Ivory soap commercial on television is not one that can be easily erased from one's memory.

That image and many more, which were part of an historic exhibit created by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, are on display until Dec. 2 at the Viet Art Center on Main Street as part of a traveling Smithsonian exhibit hosted by Cal State Fullerton.

The exhibit, titled "Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon," which premiered in Washington, D.C. in January, chronicles the evolution of Vietnamese Americans, who came to this country as refugees after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. It was the first Vietnamese American exhibit to be featured at the Smithsonian.

The pictures and exhibits on display in Garden Grove account for only about 50 percent of the original, said Vu Pham, curator of the exhibit and local researcher who helped put it all together.

"It is, however, a great sample of the original exhibit," Pham said. "It tells the story of the challenges faced by Vietnamese Americans, our contributions to America and how we've redefined our identities."

The original exhibit had many unique displays, such as a life-size replica of a 405 Freeway sign that reads: "Little Saigon next exit," he said. Those and other larger items cannot accompany a travel exhibit, Pham said.

The exhibit was brought to Garden Grove to make it more accessible to Little Saigon, said Cal State spokesman Christopher Bugbee. The university filed an application with the Smithsonian to have this particular exhibit come to Orange County, he said.

"This county has a large Vietnamese American population and it gives not only members of that community, but others, a sense of history," Bugbee said.

Michelle Nguyen, executive director of the Viet Art Center, said the exhibit beautifully showcases the birth and evolution of Little Saigon.

"If Saigon is the symbol of Vietnam, then Little Saigon is the symbol of the Vietnamese community living overseas," she said. "Little Saigon is the image and soul of a 'Vietnamese village.'"

The exhibit also features 40 photos gathered by Cal State communications professors Jeffrey Brody and David DeVries and their students, who shot them with mostly disposable cameras. The goal of the project was to capture everyday life in Little Saigon. The images document how Vietnamese Americans retained their culture as they adapted to life in America, Bugbee said.

Another powerful image that captures the essence of the Vietnamese American experience, Pham said, is a black-and-white image of words written on a chalk board: "I am a refugee."

"These images and displays show our past and present," he said. "A non-Vietnamese person who sees this exhibit will definitely walk away with the sense that the Vietnamese did not come here for material gain, but for freedom."

If you go

The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 2 at the Viet Art Center, 12965 Main St. in Garden Grove. The exhibit is open to the public. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The center is closed on Sundays. Information: 714-534-0398.