• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Alert

Westover Library Has Sunday Hours. More Info

Home - Arlington County Virginia - Logo
MENUMENU
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Borrow, Renew, Return
    • Holds
    • About My Account
    • My eAccounts
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Arlington Public Library

MENUMENU
  • Search
      • Browse New
      • Browse All
  • Events
    • Arlington Reads
    • Featured Events
    • Calendar
    • On Demand Programs
  • eCollection
    • eAudiobooks
    • eBooks
    • Digital Magazines
    • Learning Tools
    • Research Tools
    • All eCollection
  • Research
    • Research Portal
    • Research Tools A-Z
    • Local History
  • Library Services
    • Accessibility Services
    • For Book Lovers
    • Garden Tool Library
    • Maker
    • Meeting Rooms
    • Notary
    • Public Computers
    • Teleconnect Space
    • More Services
  • Explore
    • Catalog
      • Catalog Search
      • Catalog Browse
      • Digital Archives
      • Borrowing Collections
      • Book Lists
    • Kids & Teens
      • For Babies and Preschoolers
      • For Elementary Schoolers
      • Middle and High Schoolers
    • Local History
      • Research Room
      • Community Archives
      • Online Exhibits
    • Support the Library
      • Donating Materials
    • Popular
      • Consumer Reports
      • Overdrive
    • EXPLORE MORE
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Borrow, Renew, Return
    • Holds
    • About My Account
    • My eAccounts
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Voices of Little Saigon in Clarendon: Public Art on View at Central Library

Published: May 4, 2015

Public Art and Oral Histories Honor Clarendon’s Vietnamese Heritage

Clarendon Neighborhood History ad

On May 9, 2015, artist Khánh H. Lê’s temporary public installation will be on display in the fountain of Clarendon Central Park for “Echoes of Saigon,” a multimedia celebration honoring the journey of Clarendon’s Vietnamese community during the late 1970’s and 1980’s.

In addition to the public art installation, Echoes of Saigon will include hands on art activities, music, a walking tour led by former community members, a County Board proclamation, special guest speakers, other displays, and the Lemongrass Food Truck.

Following the May 9 event, the artwork will move to the Center for Local History at Central Library.

 

About the Artist and Installation

This artwork draws 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 his work for the mobile gallery Art on the ART Bus, Lê has created a mixed media townscape, embedded with memories of an ethnic enclave that no longer exists.

Lê has reproduced photographs by Michael Horsley, who documented Little Saigon during its heyday, to create structures that resemble individual businesses that existed. The buildings further tell the stories of Little Saigon through the inclusion of audio components that play excerpts of recent 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.

Commissioned by Arlington Public Art, the installation also includes a sculptural apricot blossom tree and folded paper boats that come 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.

 

About “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 have continued to collaborate with community members, Virginia Tech professor Dr. Elizabeth Morton, and her students Judd Ullom and Carlin Tacey to organize today’s event honoring Clarendon’s Vietnamese heritage and to launch a Little Saigon Smartphone tour created by Judd Ullom.

County staff, local artists, students, and members of the region’s Vietnamese American community are continuing to explore other ways to commemorate and raise awareness about the contributions of Little Saigon to Arlington’s cultural heritage. Future goals include creating a permanent historic marker to honor this history.


For additional information, and to access the Little Saigon Smartphone tour, visit www.littlesaigonclarendon.com.

 

May 4, 2015 by Web Editor Filed Under: Art Exhibits, Art News, Center for Local History, News

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. paul kovenock says

    May 7, 2015 at 7:38 AM

    Not sure this economic factor has been addressed: the refugees’ arrival coincided with Metro
    construction, tearing up the streets of Clarendon and causing hardship to established small retailers there. With reduced rents and even vacancies during Metro construction, new Vietnamese arrivals had some unique opportunities to gain a foothold in starting a business. This entrepreneurialism then providing job opportunities for other refugees
    working in a new but culturally familiar context.

    • Web Editor says

      May 7, 2015 at 2:54 PM

      Hi Paul,

      Yes, many of the oral histories discussed exactly that. You can see excerpts of the oral histories at http://littlesaigonclarendon.com/living-museum/.

Primary Sidebar


The Center for Local History: Where Stories Live


Link to USS Arlington history blogpost.

The USS Arlington


Joan Cooper: Taking a Stand


Link to oral history blog post.

Oral History: Gertrude “Trudy” Ensign


Lutrelle Parker

Rediscover Lutrelle Fleming Parker, Sr.


Roberta Flack’s Arlington Roots


Read more blog posts from the Center for Local History


Center for Local History


Central Library, First Floor
1015 North Quincy Street
Arlington VA 22201
703-228-5990

Footer

About Us

  • Mission & Vision
  • Center for Local History
  • News Room

Administration

  • Policies
  • Library Staff
  • Job Opportunities
  • Propose a Program

Support Your Library

  • Friends of the Library
  • Giving Opportunities
  • Donating Materials
  • Volunteer Opportunities

Our Mission

We champion the power of stories, information and ideas.

We create space for culture and connection.

We embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. Flickr. Newsletter.

download appDownload the Library App

Arlington County | Terms & Conditions | Accessibility | Site Map
· Copyright © 2023 Arlington County Government ·