Kvet Nguyen

An extensive monographic exhibition presents the latest work by the Slovak-Vietnamese artist Kvet Nguyen.

It is conceived as a visual reading of chapters in the story of the Vietnamese diaspora in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia – from post-war migration during the era of socialist internationalism, through the turning point of the Velvet Revolution, to the present day.

A crucial historical moment the exhibition returns to is that of the so-called "Chrastava children" from 1956. Their arrival in Chrastava near Liberec marked the beginning of the Vietnamese community's story in Czechoslovakia, which has continued to develop across generations. The connection to this location creates a unique context that still resonates today in collective memory and current discussions about migration, home, and acceptance. This is why this exhibition is undoubtedly important for our exhibition and conceptual activities as well. It connects to the local context while simultaneously supporting the current Slovak art community and expressing solidarity with it.

Kvet Nguyen's work is also a search for a visual language capable of capturing the tension of collective trauma and transforming it toward a vision of a more just future. Her works programmatically open up space for dreaming, hope, and the expression of desires that can act as catalysts for change. The exhibition includes various media, including installations, objects, video, textile photography, photographic archives, and documentary photography. In her work, Nguyen often engages with archival materials – official documents and period media that were heavily colored by racist and xenophobic narratives. This material, which challenges the notion of the "colonial innocence" of Central European post-socialist countries, becomes a starting point for the artist. By searching for and presenting suppressed voices, she pays tribute to the resilience of marginalized communities and opens space for collective and individual resistance. The exhibition is the second loose continuation of the exhibition "Kým voda nezmyje breh" (Until the Water Washes Away the Shore) from the Bratislava City Gallery, and is more deeply rooted in the context of Liberec through the Chrastava children.