The upbringing for a young Vietnamese child typically centers around familial experiences of going to Vietnamese plazas. These communal gathering spaces are usually lined with restaurants serving pho and regional specialties, small grocery markets, boba tea shops, coffee shops with and/or without tinted windows, the usual jeweler/floral/dental business, and those one-stop shops for toys, cigarettes, and super lottos. In the plazas we will often see a lot of floral arrangements, guardian lion statues, and paintings that depict the lush landscapes of the home country—all art that hold strong ties to Viet Nam and created by the hands of the older generation. However, there is a gap within these cultural spaces that is not dedicated to bridging the experiences of younger generations, especially when it comes to the diversity of art and representation and recognition of younger and emerging artists.

I believe the lack of art experiences that showcase diverse representation of art and artists within these cultural communal spaces is a large reason as to why a profession in the arts is never encouraged AND why we see a lack of Vietnamese representation in arts and media. “Work at Apple or Cisco,” they will say.

I say… “I don’t want to.”

Lunar, formerly Lunar X is a pop-up art exhibition and space that allows for younger generations to make and showcase their art as a way to create new traditions for celebrating the Lunar New Year. The exhibition features artwork by emerging Asian American artists and is also open for those who are interested in respectfully celebrating and learning about the cultural holiday. This exhibition is a dedicated space for us to tackle intergenerational trauma through art, create more moments for intergenerational joy and healing with our families and friends.

2018 inaugural Lunar x

The first pop-up exhibition was held in 2018 at TeaLyfe, a local tea shop in the popular Vietnam Town Plaza where many of the artists grew up going to with their families.

I was interested in incorporating art as a new Lunar New Year tradition for younger generations to take initiative in carving out space for themselves in these plazas. I wanted to help create more ways for art to be used as a means for storytelling and communication within their culture and families as many young people find themselves stumbling over broken Vietnamese. I also wanted to center art in small businesses where younger generations commonly frequent. I wanted to create opportunities and experiences for them to see themselves represented through the names of artists that looked and sounded similar to theirs, see artwork that resonated with them, and see artwork created by people whom they may know or are related to. Normalizing these art experiences is intentional placemaking that helps build acceptance, value, and affirmation to an artist’s identity and as well to the spectator experiencing it.

lunar 2019 year of the pig

After the success of the first year, I expanded the open call for art for high school students from Abraham Lincoln High School, Roberto Cruz Academy, and Latino College Preparatory Academy. Working with the teaching artists from these respected schools, we were able to open the Lunar X exhibition for students to gain art exhibition experience from creation, art installation, hosting an open gallery reception, and selling their art. We wanted them to take ownership in identifying as an artist.

2019 Expressing yourself beyond boundaries

In addition to producing Lunar X in 2019, I was fortunate to have met a Hieu and Duyan Le, a husband and wife chef and baker. Together, they produce Het Say! a food and cafe pop-up that open every Sunday at Thanh Lan, a banh mi / Vietnamese sandwich shop in East Side San José. Their menu is inspired by their rooted stories of the Mekong Delta, VN and California.

Together we collaborated on “Expressing Yourself Beyond Boundaries,” an exhibition that showcased art from local East Side San José artists. The exhibition also acted as a fundraiser for the families of victims from the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting that happened in July of that year.

The event created space for artists and guests to share what it had meant to express themselves beyond boundaries. They also shared what it had meant for them to be in the space together. Many of these artists call San José home. Many of them were visiting 1-2 hours away to showcase back in their hometown. Some of them were showcasing for their very first time while some others, though they were not new to the game, never imagined that they would be showcasing their art for their first time in their own neighborhood. One of the artists, who happened to be Vietnamese, shared with me that she had shown her mom the promotional flyer that featured her artwork. It was her first time seeing her mother express excitement towards her art. Another artist, who also happen to be Vietnamese, shared with me that they often use art as a way for them to communicate and connect with their dad. A couple of days later after the opening reception, the artist's dad came by to the exhibition interested in purchasing their piece in support of that family connection. He also ended up purchasing another piece by an exhibiting artist in support of the cause. It was all very exciting!

We successfully sold 60% of the art that was listed for sale. A portion was donated to the victims of Gilroy while the rest went back to the talented artists themselves.

lunar 2020 Art hop -
Year of the rat art

Lunar X grew and expanded itself outside of Tea Lyfe in 2020. This year, Lunar X exhibitions took place at TeaLyfe, Thanh Lan in collaboration with Het Say!, as well as Roy’s Station Coffee and Tea and the boutique Classic Loot in Japantown. This project evolved into a “Lunar X Art Hop,” a series of pop-up galleries in small businesses owned by people of color. The Art Hop allowed for more opportunities for local artists and students to showcase their art. It also created more space for them to exist as artists.

Soon after Lunar X 2020 successfully celebrated its gallery openings, the whole world immediately shut down due to the pandemic. Events and community gatherings shifted significantly from online gatherings on streaming platforms, event rescheduling after rescheduling, to events closing its operations completely. Instead of going out, we were enforced to quarantine and shelter-in-place. Even when restrictions eventually lessoned to allow people to socialize within intimate bubbles and masked outdoors, these privileges were not accessible to all. So social isolation remained as a lived experience for those who were at-risk from seniors, youth, and communities of low-income backgrounds or communities of color who lacked the resources for proper testing and access to available vaccinations.

So for Lunar X 2021, it only made sense to shift with the new norms and make the art experiences as accessible as it could, while remaining curious in learning news ways to adapt and meet people where they are at. The year of the Ox, was the year that Lunar X became a hybrid arts experience. Artwork from returning and new artists were featured in both Tea Lyfe locations in ESSJ and Saratoga for public viewing while people socially distanced, picked-up food, or ordered to-go. In addition, Lunar X also launched a virtual gallery space that made the viewing and sale of all artworks as well as hosting a virtual Tea Lyfe pop-up accessible through electronic devices and computers. People were able to enter into the online space as an avatar and walk “walk around” to view art close up from the virtual gallery walls and a percentage of sales were donated to those who needed assistance from challenges of the pandemic.

It’s not 100% accessible…but it was a start.

As our neighborhoods continue on being developed, it’s important to help preserve and reimagine existing cultural spaces for our communities as well as carve out spaces for ourselves to coexist.

Normalizing art experiences in these ways can do just that.

Have a location? Co-host Lunar! | Support Lunar

Thank you

TeaLyfe Drinks

Het Say!

Roy’s Station Coffee and Tea

Classic Loot

Candy & Caleb Bui

Sofia Arrendondo/
Sea Senorita Studios

AFKGMR

Angel Lopez

Elba Raquel Illustrations

PFox

Hieu & Duyan

Octavio Virrueta

Abraham Lincoln HS
BEG/ADV/AP Art Classes

Roberto Cruz Academy
Art Class

Latino College Preparatory Academy