Guide to the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association records MS.SEA.026
Processed by Julia Stringfellow; machine-readable finding aid created by Audrey Pearson; addition processed by Alix Norton;
updated by Zoe MacLeod, 2021; Update by Hanako Ishizuka-Gunderson, 2022
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2022
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association records
Identifier/Call Number: MS.SEA.026
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(6 boxes, 5 videocassettes, 2 OS folder) and 0.9 linear feet of unprocessed material.
Date (inclusive): 1993-2018
Abstract: The collection is comprised of organizational records and materials documenting events sponsored by the Vietnamese American
Arts and Letters Association (VAALA). Items include those from the Fresh off the Boat (F.O.B.) art exhibit that presented
works by 40 visual and performing artists and artistic groups of all mediums. Materials from the Vietnamese International
Film Festival (VIFF) are also contained in the collection, such as programs, photographs, and descriptions of films being
shown at the festival. The film festival is the first in the nation and worldwide to exhibit works by the Vietnamese diaspora,
Vietnamese living outside of their homeland, and has been held at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University
of California, Irvine beginning in 2003.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
Processed components of the collection are open for research. Unprocessed additions may contain restricted materials. Please
contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Southeast Asian Archive Librarian.
Preferred Citation
Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association records. MS-SEA026. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association, 2003-2005 and 2011. Additional gift of Yse Le, 2013. Additional
gift of Ellen Breitman and Thuy Vo Dang, 2019.
Processing History
Processed by Julia Stringfellow, 2005. Processing was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant. Additional
materials accessioned and processed by Alix Norton with assistance from Audra Eagle Yun, 2013. Additional materials accessioned
by Hanako Ishizuka-Gunderson, 2022.
Historical Background
The Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA), a community-based non-profit organization based in Orange County,
California, was founded in 1991 by a group of Vietnamese American journalists, artists, and friends. VAALA's mission is to
promote Vietnamese values in art, create opportunities for artists to interact with their audience, and facilitate communication
among different ethnic groups through various forms of art. VAALA has organized numerous cultural events that include lectures,
exhibits, book fairs, and concerts by world-class Vietnamese scholars and artists. These events help bring the arts and culture
to the community.
The Fresh off the Boat (F.O.B.) art exhibit was held in September 2002 at the Nguoi Viet gallery in Westminster, California.
F.O.B. was the first exhibit to incorporate all the major media of visual and performing arts presented by Vietnamese American
artists who are under 40 years of age. The goal of the exhibit was to celebrate and empower the Vietnamese American identity
through creativity. Media featured include painting, sculpture, photography, film, new genres, installation, performing art,
video art, comic drawings, graffiti art, poetry/spoken word, music, and di-jing. F.O.B. interwove art, popular culture, and
unpopular notions of identity into a controversial show that addressed discrimination, stereotypes, and struggles. The exhibit
was part of a three-week long festival.
"Fresh off the Boat' is a label often attributed to immigrants who have not yet integrated into the mainstream American society.
The art show was created to shatter stereotypes and empower the immigrant community, co-opting the term "F.O.B." for the immigrants'
own use.
The Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF) was first held in 2003 and was the world's first film festival showcasing
works on the Vietnamese diaspora. It was held at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California,
Irvine. The festival usually features about 100 films shown over a six-day period.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The collection is comprised of materials from events sponsored by the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA).
Items include those from the Fresh off the Boat (F.O.B.) art exhibit that presented works by 40 visual and performing artists
and artistic groups of all mediums. The materials include information on the artists and their works, budget information,
notes, a schedule of the exhibit, newspaper articles, and a Vietnam California Radio yearbook. Videotapes used for the exhibit
are also included.
Materials from the Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF) are also contained in the collection, such as programs, photographs,
and descriptions of films being shown at the festival. The film festival is the first in the nation and worldwide to exhibit
works by the Vietnamese diaspora, Vietnamese living outside of their homeland, and has been held at the University of California,
Los Angeles, and the University of California, Irvine.
Organizational records include meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence, event programs and announcements, digital files,
and publications.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 3 series:
- Series 1. Fresh off the Boat (F.O.B.), 2002
- Series 2. Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF), 2003-2005
- Series 3. Organizational records, 1994-2007
The first two series of the collection are arranged alphabetically, either topically or by form of material. The organizational
records series is an addition and is not arranged.
This collection also contains two unprocessed addition:
Accession 2018.005, 2011-2017. 0.2 linear feet
Accession 2022.043, 2003-2018. 0.7 linear feet
Subjects and Indexing Terms
DVDs -- 21st century.
Video recordings -- 21st century
Audiocassettes -- 21st century.
Vietnamese American art -- California -- Orange County -- Exhibitions -- Archives.
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 21st century.
Clippings -- 21st century.
Interviews -- 21st century.
Art, Vietnamese
Artists, Vietnamese
Fresh off the Boat (F.O.B.) Series 1.
2002
box 3, item MS-SEA026-A04
Cassette tape, F.O.B. show
circa 2002
box 3, item MS-SEA026-A01
DVDs, Nguoi Tinh Gia (Pham Duy) The Old Lover, documentary film
2002
box 1, folder 1-2
"F.O.B.: A MultiArt Show" materials
2002
General Physical Description note: 2 folders.
box 1, folder 3
"F.O.B.: A MultiArt Show" newspaper articles
2002
box AV-011, item MS-SEA026-V01-V02
Cinema symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles
2002
General Physical Description note: 2 tapes.
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V03
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V04
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V05
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V06
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V07
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V08
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V09
box 3, item MS-SEA026-V10
box AV-011, item MS-SEA026-V11-V12
F.O.B. short films series
2002
General Physical Description note: 2 tapes.
box AV-011, item MS-SEA026-V13
Nguoi Tinh Gia (Pham Duy) The Old Lover, documentary film
2002
box AV-011, item MS-SEA026-V14
Shut Up White Boy, short film
2002
Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF) Series 2.
2003-2005
box 3, item MS-SEA026-A02-A03
DVDs, Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF) trailers
2005
General Physical Description note: 2 discs.
box 1, folder 6-7
Programs, photographs, and festival materials
2003
General Physical Description note: 2 folders.
box 1, folder 8
Programs and festival materials
2005
box AV-009, item MS-SEA026-V15
VHS videocassette tape, Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF) talk show
2003
Organizational records Series 3.
1994-2007
Physical Description: 0.4 Linear Feet1 box
Scope and Content Summary
This series includes digital files from the VAALA organization, brochures, event programs and announcements, meeting agendas
and minutes, correspondence, and a book published by VAALA on Vietnamese boat people.
Digital files
2004-2006
Physical Description note: 3 discs.
Scope and Content Summary
Contains VAALA website information, secretary files, and files of Ysa Le.
box 1, folder 11
"Building a Stronger America Together" brochure and note from President George W. Bush
2006
box 1, folder 12
Event programs and announcements
2005-2007
Scope and Content Summary
Contains programs and postcards from VIFF, gallery openings, lectures, and book events.
box 4, folder 1-6
Meeting notes and correspondence
1994-2000
Scope and Content Summary
Contains agendas, minutes, and notes from VAALA meetings as well as correspondence and other organizational records.
box 4, folder 7
The Forgotten Ones: a photographic documentation of the last Vietnamese boat people in the Philippines
2004
box 1, folder 4
Vietnam California Radio yearbook
2002-2003
box 1, folder 5
Vietnamese Diaspora Film Symposium, program materials
2004
Unprocessed addition 2018 Accession 2018.005
2011-2017
Physical Description: 0.2 Linear Feet(1 half letter document box)
Series Scope and Contents Summary
Contains photographs and ephemera, including posters, flyers, postcards, and other planning and publicity materials for VAALA
programs and events. An exhibit catalogue for "Generations: 40 Hues between Black and White" show in 2015 is included.
Access
This addition to the collection has not been processed but is open for research. Please contact the Department of Special
Collections and Archives in advance to request access.
box accn2018.005 001
Box 1
2011-2017
Scope and Contents Note
Photographs and ephemera, including posters, flyers, postcards, and other planning and publicity materials for VAALA programs
and events. An exhibit catalogue for "Generations: 40 Hues between Black and White" show in 2015 is included.
Unprocessed addition 2022 accn2022-043
1993-2018
Physical Description: 0.7 Linear Feet(1 letter size document box; 1 half size letter document box; 1 OS folder)
Access
This addition to the collection has been minimally processed but is open for research. Please contact the Department of Special
Collections and Archives spcoll@uci.edu in advance of your visit to request access.
box accn2022.043 001
Box 1
2003-2018
Scope and Contents
Box accn2022.043 001
Program files (2003-2018)
box accn2022.043 002
Box 2
1993-2013
Scope and Contents
accn2022.043 002
Newsletters, and letters from VALAA Advisory Board members (1993-1994)
Viet Film Festival programs (2007-2013)
box FB-063, folder 9
OS Folder 1
2010
Scope and Contents
This addition to the collection has been minimally processed but is open for research. Please contact the Department of Special
Collections and Archives spcoll@uci.edu in advance of your visit to request access.
