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THE MOVERS & SHAKERS

Here is a selection of the people and places we collaborate with for our Hidden Saigon Journeys and other activities and experiences. Contact us for more information of the other Movers and Shakers we work with.

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UuDam Tran Nguyen
Visual Artist

UuDam Tran Nguyen is a  Visual Artist based in Saigon. He studied in Vietnam and the USA, and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. and from the School of Visual Arts in NY with an MFA.

 

He has been exhibited internationally, including various Biennials. He won the Jury Selection prize of the prestigious 18th Japan Media Arts Festival for his installation robotic app art License 2 Draw.

 

UuDam is also the co-founder of the experimental art magazine XEM.

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De Ara Hirosin
Drag Queen

De Ara Hirosin is an aspiring young Drag Artist based in Saigon. She is the winner of the first ever Drag Queen Pageant (2023).

They hail all the way from Hong Ngu, a small Vietnamese provincial town bordering Cambodia.In the Southwest side of Vietnam where she grew up, Lo To culture, a form of Vietnamese bingo that combines bingo, drag and live singing is quite popular and a huge inspiration to Hirosin.

Hirson’s style of drag is influenced by Rupaul’s “Drag Race”, as well as the pageantry scene, a combination of western mixed with Vietnamese queer folk culture.

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La Viet Coffee

Husband and wife team, Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc and Tran Nhat Quang are the brains behind La Viet Coffee. With no background in coffee making, the couple wanted a change in their lives and decided to try their hand at coffee production with the lesser known Vietnamese Arabica beans.

 

La Viet Coffee has come to be one of the leaders in specialty coffee in Vietnam. They started to create different spins on the coffee drinks, including their bestseller, Margarita Coffee, which takes the flavor of this tropical drink complete with salt rim. La Viet spends hours researching and developing new drinks, pushing the specialty coffee scene forward, all the while respecting and developing the Vietnamese coffee culture. 

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Trang (Tricia) Nguyen
Founder, Wintercearig & Lang Spot

Tricia is the founder of the Wintercearig Project, a project that aims to raise awareness of mental health issues in Vietnam through contemporary art and dance. The festival includes performances, installations, collaborations between artists and dancers and workshops for the community using the practice of art and dance therapy to create safe spaces for people

She is also the co-founder of community arts space Lang Spot. Its goal is to provide a space a safe space for creatives and the public to hold events.

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Mrs. Khanh
Local Resident

Mrs. Khanh is a stay-at-home mom who has been living in her family’s home in Cholon (China Town) since she was born. As close as one can get to time travel, this immaculately preserved apartment building complex is a throwback to the early 1900s.  With a development boom in full swing in Saigon, here in the heart of Cholon with its herbal medicine stores and antique tea rooms time stands still.
   
Many of the residents here, like Mrs. Khanh herself, are of Chinese descent, which is reflected in decorations and religious symbols that we will encounter during the visit.  Take your time exploring Mrs. Khanh’s home that was originally built by the French and changed very little since

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Nguyen Kim To
Visual Artist

Saigon born Nguyen Kim To has done it all to survive and bring up her family of artists. She met her husband -   himself a major player in the 1990s Saigon art scene - in art school when they were both 12 years old and together raised two daughters, both working in the arts.

 

Kim To took a break from her practice during wartime when she worked at an advertising company making hand-drawn product packaging. When the war ended, she landed a job at the Ministry of Culture making large-scale propaganda posters peppering the streets of the city. 

 

Now that her daughters have grown up, she has free time to paint once again.

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Conor Nguyen
Founder, Hermit Cocktail Bar

Conor Nguyen is the owner of the Hermit Cocktail Bar and the author of the only Vietnamese language book on bartending, “Câu Chuyẹn̂ Cocktail - A Bartender's Guide”.

In 2022, with the encouragement of the Sông Cái founder, Daniel Nguyen, Conor opened his own bar, in the quickly developing, trendy neighbourhood, Pham Viet Chanh, Binh Thanh. Conor wanted to create a space that was minimal, welcoming and a place where you can converse with your friends. 

 

Conor has a big interest in tarot cards, so when he was looking for a concept for a bar, he looked no further than into the cards. Conor creates beautiful creations based on the various tarot cards, using local craft spirits and ingredients. If you’re lucky, he may even give you a reading.

 

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Lin Li - Piu Piu Records
Music Producer, Promoter, DJ, Record Label Owner

French-Moroccan-Vietnamese, Lin Li (DJ Scarry Potter) has been making waves in the local hip hop scene in Saigon for the last few years. He is a Music Producer, DJ, Events Organiser and Promotor, and the co-founder of record label, Piu Piu Records, which he established with DJ Bobby D.

Piu Piu Records bridges the gap between Western and Asian Alternative music. It focuses on fostering local hip hop talent as well as providing a platform for international collaborations with Vietnamese artists.

Under Piu Piu Records, the producing duo, “The Good Hood” (DJ Scary Potter and DJ Bobby D), started to release mixtapes. “Streettape”, which is a compliation of songs they produced, featuring the most promising rappers in the Vietnamese new Hip Hop generation, combined with international guest features from artists from the US, Australia and Malaysia.

Piu Piu also is a promotion and events company that provides a space and a night for the talent to perform and hone their craft to a live audience. The Piu Piu Club nights allows the label and artists to showcase their work and foster the underground scene and community.

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Danh Thanh Long
Independent Publisher
Kho Muc Studios, Inpages, Saigon Artbook

Saigon born Danh Thanh Long is an independent publisher and co-founder of Saigon Artbook, an independently published book that features Saigon-based artists.

Founded in 2013, its dual mission is to provide motivation and exposure for artists based in Saigon, whilst encouraging new audiences to engage with contemporary art.

In 2016, Long along with 2 other partners, co-founded and opened InPages an independent bookstore focusing on independent and small print publications. 

He is also the co-founder of Kho Muc Studio, the first Risograph print studio that provides  riso-printing services, workshops and creates paper good products.  

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