Voices from Little Saigon of Clarendon
Project Details
Artist: Khánh H. Lê
Materials: MDF board, audio players, digital prints of photographs, acrylic jewels, metallic paint, origami paper
Location: Clarendon Central Park; The Center for Local History, Central Library
Installed: May 9, 2015 (Clarendon Central Park); May-October 2015 (The Center for Local History)
Installed at Clarendon’s Central Park for a one-day event on May 9, 2015 honoring Clarendon’s Vietnamese Heritage, artist Khánh H. Lê’s work drew on primary sources to highlight the history of Little Saigon – the thriving hub of Vietnamese commerce and social activity that existed in Clarendon in the late 1970s and ‘80s. Similar to work he created concurrently for the mobile gallery Art on the ART Bus, Lê presented a mixed media townscape, embedded with memories of an ethnic enclave that no longer exists.
Lê reproduced photographs by Michael Horsley, who documented Little Saigon during its heyday, to create structures that resemble individual businesses that existed. The buildings further told the stories of Little Saigon through the inclusion of audio components that played excerpts of oral history interviews with former Little Saigon community members. The interviews were conducted by graduate students from Urban Affairs & Planning in Virginia Tech's School of Public & International Affairs.
The installation also included a sculptural apricot blossom tree and folded paper boats that came together to form flowers, symbolizing the journeys of Vietnamese immigrants who left their homeland to create a new community in Clarendon and a new life in America. Following the event at Clarendon’s Central Park, the installation was on display at the Center for Local History at Central Library.
Esfandyar Poozesh assisted the artist with designing and building the audio component of the artwork.
Learn more about Khánh H. Lê.
Echoes of Little Saigon
In the fall of 2014, Arlington County’s Historic Preservation Program and the Center for Local History collaborated with graduate students from Virginia Tech’s Department of Urban Affairs & Planning to explore ways to document, preserve, and celebrate the cultural heritage and diversity of Arlington. One of the resulting projects focused on the enclave in Clarendon once known as Little Saigon. The students conducted oral histories with members of the Vietnamese community who immigrated to Arlington during the 1970s and ‘80s, and those who shopped at or owned the many Vietnamese restaurants and businesses that existed in Clarendon during that time. The students also provided recommendations for increasing awareness about Little Saigon and recognizing the contributions of the Vietnamese community to Arlington.
Inspired by the students’ work, County staff and volunteers continued to collaborate with community members, Virginia Tech professor Dr. Elizabeth Morton, and her students Judd Ullom and Carlin Tacey to organize an event honoring Clarendon’s Vietnamese heritage held on May 9, 2015. In addition to a County Board Proclamation and guest speakers, the event featured Khánh Lê’s public art installation and the launch of a Little Saigon Smartphone tour created by Judd Ullom. The project led to the development and publication of a book, Echoes of Little Saigon: Vietnamese Immigration and the Changing Face of Arlington, written by Kim A. O’Connell and funded by a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Learn more about Little Saigon through a Living Museum created by Virginia Tech students under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Morton.