- 30 - thirty years of diaspora

April 29, 2005, 8-11pm
2857 24th St @ Bryant SF
$5-$10 Sliding Scale

	30 n., v., 1. The act of putting down a weapon of any kind – whether physical or mental. 2. Finally having the courage to look back and let go. 3. years of settling, years of struggle, years of building community. 4. Curves of a body before giving birth, my lifetime of orbits around the sun, the mirror of my mother’s face, three decades reaching, coming into voice. 5. A number representing the madness, bullshit, rise, fall, trauma, and triumph that our people have gone through and still we are here doing this. 6. After 30 years, Viet Nam still resonates. 7. A magical number signifying a reunion, a nation's self-determination, a community in creation, and a love that lives on through us. 8. ...
	The Anniversary: On the anniversary of his brother's death, a Buddhist monk living in the US is haunted by memories of childhood & betrayal during the Vietnam War. Ham Tran was born in Vietnam, where he grew up until his family immigrated to the United States in 1982. The Anniversary completes his MFA Directing degree at the UCLA School of Film and Television. His past films, The Prescription and Pomegranate, have both received numerous accolades, including nominations for the Student Academy Awards . His new film Journey From the Fall will be screening in April 2005.
	From Saratoga, CA, Thien Pham currently resides in Oakland, CA. Thien attended Academy of Art College in San Francisco.He is currently employed by Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, where he teaches computer art, computer aided drafting, and yearbook. Thien enjoys going bowling, eating noodles, listening to his iPod, & various little projects such as redesigning his classroom to be "all wood" or drawing ninjas all over his chalkboard. One of the most reputable members of his community, Thien Pham is admired by many individuals. His strip I Like Eating can be found in the East Bay Express. For more information, visit www.e-zcheese.com Vinh Ngo is the author of Since I Was Six, a series of self-published books. His debut work can be found in the anthology Garish Zow #5.
	Jimmy Thong Tran born in Torrance, raised in Berkeley, Jimmy Thong Tran is a graduated Ethnic Studies major from UC Berkeley who is really glad to be out of school. He has been involved with Theatre Rice, REACH, SASC, APASD, Proletariat Bronze, Asian American Theatre Company, and Youth Speaks. He is a member of the 2004 San Francisco Poetry Slam team and the 2004 National Collegiate Poetry Slam champions UC Berkeley's CalSlam team, which decided to stay together, forming a 4-person collective called Jigsaw. He recently taped for the 5th season of HBO's Def Poetry Jam in New York and is working on a book with the Jigsaw Collective, to be published by First Word Press.
	Dandiggity is a Vietnamese American poet from San Jose, CA. He writes from his heart and speaks with his actions. Compassionate and direct is his style of writing. He still thinks he not that good. People tell him otherwise, thank God. He loves to be a part of any commnuity willing to work for the greater good of the majoirty. He is secretly sixteen years old. He represents Christ Jesus, Hip Hop, life, and The 101 Project. He is currently working on a book of collected works. He wants to be your friend.
	Linh Gia Nguyen was born in Quang Tri, Central Viet Nam. Linh grew up absorbing popular Vietnamese songs sung at family gatherings and American rock music blasted on the radio. As a guitarist and singer, Linh seeks to create compelling and beautiful music that reflects his broad background and experiences. Linh Nguyen currently resides in Oakland.
	Ly Nguyen was born in Seattle, WA and raised in San Francisco. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, she returned to SF to establish Oasis for Girls, a young women's art and education center. Ly's creative interests include photography and writing. Her photo work was exhibited at Apature 2002. Her short stories were published in the San Francisco Chronicle and Chocolate for Women's Soul Anthology. Ly was a writer in residence at Hedgebrook and the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation. Most recently she completed a novel and was selected to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center. Ly is currently the Executive Director at Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest multidisciplinary Asian Pacific American arts organization in the United States
	Ky-Phong Tran was named after the wind, fitting that an exiled child of the Vietnamese Diaspora be named after the original earth element that fears no borders. A writer from many places--Saigon, Alabama, North Long Beach--he calls Oakland home for now. A member of the Vietnamese Artists Collective, he is working on 562, a short story collection, and napalm's children, a novel. He will begin the MFA Program in Creative Writing at UC Riverside this fall. He writes to breathe and dares to imagine a better world.
	Danny Thanh Nguyen is a humorist, fiction writer, & one-third of the literary-trash phenomenon 'D.J. Berkeley'. He works as a senior editor for the non-profit HIFY where he teaches writing & 'zine-making workshops for young people. He has co-edited HIFY's "Walk Like a Warrior: A Young Man's Survival Guide". His work has appeared in Transfer, Lodestar Quarterly, among other publications. Danny lives in San Francisco, and thinks the Vietnamese need more than just 3 surnames.
	Tony Van Nguyen is a viet american cat who loves to build with his peoples through creative cultural vehicles. currently brewing in his mind right nows is a group performance art piece around WHO WE ARE that will feature him and his sisters and brothers in the collective - so be on the lookouts!!! when tony isn't chillin with the artists collective or sleeping, you can find him either building with his vietunity folks (another tiiiight bay area viet crew!) or tryin to make the dolla dolla bill y'all at the asian & pacific american community program of the afsc. oh, and lastly (cuz it shouldz be last), tony is a proud wack emcee who spends too much time busting wack beatboxes EVERYWHERE.
	Carolyn Thuy Linh Tran is an angry (but determined!) woman trying to make a difference. Her heart and organizing is rooted in the APIA community and loves to build and connect with other Vietnamese folks! Currently a student at San Francisco State University, she divides her time among Locus Arts, VietUnity and the Vietnamese Artists Collective, all of which she loves dearly. On a regular day, you can find her throwing up the VietLove sign and giving you her evil glare. She also likes to believe that she coined the term "viet love".
	The Vietnamese Artists Collective is a Bay Area Vietnamese American grassroots collective established to promote and support emerging artists in our community.