Season II is a group exhibition by a partnership between Chopsticks Alley Art and the Triton Museum of Art. The exhibit will feature four exemplary Asian American artists practicing different art forms. The artists showcased represent a new wave and generation of artists who explore the interconnectedness between their identity and art practice. This is their season two (ii) and a sequel to the stories that were sparked and told by those who were before them. As we see a change in shifts from those from an older perspective to newer views which face different challenges yet still recall the former since it is written in our personal histories.

Anh Bui’s series of hauntingly tender oil paintings find liberation from social constructs using the metaphor of space which is inherently unknown and undefinable. Charlene Tan’s large-scale weaving is born through research, remembering, and celebrating the cultural threads that bring us closer to our roots. Trương Thị Thịnh's nostalgia comes through in her traditional oils on canvas as she carries on with the second life she built for her immigration journey to the US. Sound artist Sarbpreet Buttar’s composition of Nature's Song, tuned to 425 Hertz, provides an immersive soothing, and healing experience.
 

Season II, at its core, is a contemporary collaboration and personification of self expression -- each of these works of art are truly personal and with their own complexities, yet we see overlap and similar themes woven through each of their creations. This group exhibition seeks to amplify Asian American voices, celebrate their stories, and support the seasons of change forevermore.

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Image credit: Charlene Tan, Research and Remembering, Manag Dulay

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Featuring Artists:

Anh Bui

Charlene Tan

Sarbpreet Buttar
Trương Thị Thịnh

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Hidden under layers of assimilation, tradition, the longing to belong, and the ache of change when society shuts down and old philosophies break into gray space...fragments of us wait to be gathered and restored to wholeness.

The artists in this exhibit share two traits: their awareness of juxtaposed truths about themselves, and the courage to lean into what seems to be broken yet ultimately brings peace.

As members of one human race, our own psyches contain pieces of a whole; we are multitudes. Each of us on a journey, we have yet to meet all versions of ourselves. At crucial points of growth, we look within to discover rich tunnels of expression.

May you find, within each artist’s story, an encouragement to your own.

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EXHIBIT BROCHURE

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Featuring Artists:

Mark F. Erickson

Jerry Hiura

Doan Thoi

Hadi Aghaee

Ấp Ủ: Identity | Journey | Legacy

is an exhibit rooted in stories of place, family, journey, identity and—ultimately—home.

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The multi-layered works on view as part of this special exhibition were created by elders from San Jose's large and vibrant Vietnamese

community in December 2019 as part of a creative learning workshop led by artists Trinh Mai, Binh Danh, and Cynthia Cao at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center. Elders participating in Chopsticks Alley Art’s “Adventures in Contemporary Art” program hand wrote their memories, then painted images of native flowers and birds to layer over the top of them.

The workshop was the first in a series of three that are being conducted as part of “Hidden Heritages: San José’s Vietnamese Legacy,” a two-year partnership between the San José Museum of Art and Chopsticks Alley. The program brings Vietnamese artists and community members together to amplify, and artistically present stories that share the life experiences of Vietnamese Americans in San José.

What is Hidden Heritages?

Hidden Heritages: San José’s Vietnamese Legacy is a two-year partnership between the San José Museum of Art, Chopsticks Alley, and the City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs that brings Vietnamese artists and community members together to share, amplify, and artistically present stories that reveal the contributions of Vietnamese Americans to San José, one of California’s most diverse cities. Renowned Vietnamese artists Binh Danh, Trinh Mai, and Van-Anh (Vanessa) Vo will lead a series of community-based, creative learning workshops in 2019 and 2020 that will provide opportunities to share personal experiences and memories, and to reflect on the transformational impact Vietnamese Americans have had on San José’s culture and economy, as well as its identity as the capital of Silicon Valley. New artworks inspired by the workshops and incorporating stories from workshop participants will form the basis for a series of programs, held over two years, including an exhibition and public performance to take place at City Hall in April and May 2021. 
 

What inspired this project? What are its goals?

Hidden Heritages: San José’s Vietnamese Legacy builds on the continuing, shared goals of each of the partner organizations to promote creative expression as a tool for cross-generational storytelling and reflection, and to demonstrate the power of art to build community and to deepen cross-cultural understanding. One of the main objectives of this project is to reveal and acknowledge the ongoing contributions of San José’s large and vibrant Vietnamese community to the City’s development, and to honor these contributions through original artworks presented at City Hall—a site in the heart of downtown that has been an important starting point for successive waves of new immigrants to San José. 

The project is supported by a California Arts Council Creative California Communities grant that funds meaningful, collaborative, creative placemaking projects that animate, activate, and celebrate communities by using local artists, cultural resources, and/or the creative sector as central components. 

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Who can participate? 

Anyone interested in sharing stories, photographs, artifacts, memorabilia, or memories about their experiences, contributions, and recollections of San José’s Vietnamese Community—the largest Viet population in any single city outside of Vietnam—is invited to participate. To be notified about future workshop dates, activities and events, or to be added to the project email list, please contact Trami Cron at chopsticksalley@gmail.com.
 

What is the timeline for the project? 

The first workshop will take place on December 7, 2019 at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center in collaboration with Chopsticks Alley Art’s program Adventures in Contemporary Art. Subsequent public workshops will take place in spring and summer 2020, dates to be announced.

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The culminating exhibition and performance at San José City Hall will take place in April and May 2021. 

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This activity is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at arts.ca.gov. 

​Chopsticks Alley Art presents
 

Location:

CreaTV
255 W Julian Street, #100
San Jose, CA 95110
 

Hours:

M-F 9am-8pm, Sat 11-4pm

FREE Admission

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Exhibit Opening Reception

June 8, 2019

1:30-3pm

RSVP Required
 

Kayang kaya, you can do it!  This Tagalog phrase proclaims that you can overcome anything. Like Ally's artwork, it’s a reminder to all that barriers are everywhere but they don't need to limit us.

We believe art is one of the world’s most effective tools for both expression and communication.  Regardless of age or ability, art can help us transcend life’s adversities. Our imaginations are boundless—so, too, is art.

Chopsticks Alley Art seeks to build bridges and open doors to artists with all abilities.
 

Ally Spray is a 15-year-old, third-generation Filipina American visual artist. Her artwork is composed of layers of line and color, forming exuberant shapes that reflect her sense of the world.  

Ally’s works on paper are largely created with Sharpie markers and pens, used with varying degrees of pressure and intensity. Her creations vibrate with color and energy while her use of lines provides both foundation and texture. A keen observer of her environment, she finds inspiration in everything she sees.

Although Ally is autistic, it does not impede her talent. She has, in some ways, allowed it to enhance her work—it is the lens through which she sees the world.

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​Chopsticks Alley Art presents Salt Stained 

in cooperation with the San José Museum of Art’s

Vietnamese Community Outreach Initiative
 

Location:

San José City Hall - Rotunda Gallery

200 E. Santa Clara Street

San Jose, CA  95113
 

Rotunda Hours:

M-F 8am-5pm

FREE Admission

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In Vietnamese, the word nước translates to water, nhà translates to home, and both words translate to country. When you remove nước from the Southeast Asian body, what’s left is our salt stained skin—a reminder that we’ve crossed oceans to leave the nước that nourished us, the nước that was our livelihood, and the nước nhà we once called home. Home is the place we come back to, the place we miss when we leave, and the place we return to for comfort.

Salt Stained: HOME is a showcase for communal storytelling through works of art by four Southeast Asian artists whose stories challenge dominant narratives, whose salt-stained bodies stayed afloat as we cast out our ropes and held onto one another, leaving behind a legacy of ripples. 

Salt Stained: HOME is presented by Chopsticks Alley Art, in cooperation with the San José Museum of Art’s Vietnamese Community Outreach Initiative, and is an expansion of Salt Stained, an exhibition that premiered in September 2018 at Art Object Gallery, San José. It is also a partner project of New Terrains: Mobility and Migration.

Artists featured: 

Amanda Pascual

Cynthia Cao

Jackie Huynh

Josiah Heng

Community Art Project with VietUnity & Chopsticks Alley Art

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​Chopsticks Alley Art presents Salt Stained 

in cooperation with the San José Museum of Art’s

Vietnamese Community Outreach Initiative
 

Location:

Art Object Gallery

592 N. Fifth St, San Jose, CA 
 

Gallery Hours

Fri & Sat 11-5pm, Sun 11-3pm

FREE Admission

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About the Exhibit:

In Vietnamese, the word nước translates to both water and country. When you remove nước from the Southeast Asian body, what’s left is our salt stained skin—a bitter reminder that we’ve crossed oceans to leave the nước that nourished us, the nước that was our livelihood, and the nước we once called home.

Salt Stained showcases communal storytelling through works of art by Southeast Asian artists whose stories challenge dominant narratives. These works demonstrate our resiliency as people whose salt stained bodies stayed afloat as we cast out our ropes and hold onto one another, leaving a legacy of ripples behind.
 

Artists featured: 

Binh Danh
Lola X Kenneth Collaboration
Trinh Mai
Thịnh Thị Trương
Tuan Tran
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo - Performance September 8th

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Salt Stained is part of New Terrains: Mobility and Migration, a series of cross-disciplinary exhibitions and programs that explore how bodies move through social and political spaces in Silicon Valley beginning in the spring of 2018 and continuing into 2019. The project addresses timely topics such as bicycle transportation and urban planning, navigation and orientation, public protest, immigration, and migration. Details are online at www.newterrains.org.