Remembering SAIGON

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
BACKGROUND MUSIC COURTESY OF & PRODUCED BY: VPROD MUSIC

This project is funded in part by Humanities Guahan and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021.

What does it mean to remember Saigon from the perspective of Guam? How have the fates of Vietnam and Guam been entangled during different time periods in history? This exhibit examines connections across cultures, colonization, and the Cold War. It opens with Vietnam’s origin story—the tale of Âu Cơ, the mountain fairy, and Lạc Long Quân, the sea dragon king—and its resonances with Guam’s own creation story—the tale of Puntan and Fu'una. We then detail how Vietnam’s history of French colonialism and US intervention parallels Guam’s history of Spanish colonialism and its current status as a US unincorporated territory. The majority of the exhibit examines Guam’s participation during the Vietnam War and its important role in processing Vietnamese refugees after the Fall of Saigon. Between April and November 1975, over 112,000 refugees were housed in Guam during Operation New Life. This exhibit highlights the stories of CHamoru Vietnam War veterans, Vietnamese refugees, and their Guamanian helpers. We feature historical artifacts, archival footage, important documents, and oral histories from the Micronesia Area Research Center at the University of Guam, local news agencies, the Memoirs Pasifika podcast, the National Archives and Records Administration, and collections from California. This exhibit ends with reflections on how the stories of Vietnam and Guam continue to be intertwined in the present as well as an invitation to visit Saigon, now renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

This project is led by University of California, Los Angeles assistant professor Dr. Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi, the daughter and granddaughter of Vietnamese refugees who traveled through Guam during Operation New Life after the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. The rest of the creative team includes multimedia expert Tony Azios from Memoirs Pasifika, visual artist/curator Omasu Soto, graphic artist Kate Solanzo, historian Jeff Meyer, and independent researcher Nghia Vo.

The exhibit will run from July 15 to September 15, 2022.
Location: TUMON SANDS PLAZA
Tuesdays to Sundays
12:00pm to 6:00pm

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

CLICK HERE & CHECK OUT MEMOIRS PASIFIKA

Note: Any views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Humanities Guahan or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

To collaborate, sponsor, partner or request information on advertising opportunities, please e-mail info@guamphilharmonic.org or contact us at 1-844-487-4364, extension 3.

The GPF is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit recognized by the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). All contributions are tax-deductible and a letter of contribution is available upon request.

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