How can a beloved 19th-century epic help us tell today’s stories of identity, movement, and belonging? With Tracing Kiều, I hope to find out – by inviting creatives of the international Vietnamese diaspora to respond to The Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều, written by Nguyễn Du) in their own mediums.
Tracing Kiều began with a book I stumbled upon decades ago – a bilingual Tale of Kiều that followed me from the US to Berlin. In 2025, now living farther from the city center and rethinking my life and work, I felt it was time to return to the things that have shaped me: my art, my mixed Vietnamese heritage, and the different ways I’ve experienced life in the diaspora.
What can Kiều mean to someone whose identity – and relationships – span Vietnam, the US, and Germany/Europe? How are our personal stories shaped by the histories we inherit, and how do we build community across borders and generations? Tracing Kiều grows from these questions.
The project opens that dialogue outward. Led by a small Berlin-based team, it invites Vietnamese and diasporic creatives to engage with Kiều through writing, image, performance, sound, or hybrid forms. Together, their contributions form an evolving conversation across interconnected formats:
• Anthology – written and visual contributions
• Exhibition – growing out of the anthology, bringing works into spatial form
• Discursive program – talks, readings, workshops
• Digital platform – project website and evolving archive
At the heart of Tracing Kiều is a simple creative invitation: open the poem, see what finds you, and respond in your own voice.
More information at tracingkieu.net.
