Vietnam in Transition, 1976–Present explores the multi-layered intersections of art, history, and memory in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War – in Vietnam known as the American War – and national reunification. With its history of French colonialism, American imperialism, Soviet-style socialism, and relative economic liberalization during the doi moiperiod, Vietnam is a country of strong divisions, both internally and between the homeland and the international diaspora.

Through the lens of contemporary art and artifacts, Vietnam in Transition, 1976–Present highlights a variety of topics, including dealing with a traumatic past, sites of remembrance, political suppression, tensions between tradition and modernity, refugees and refugee camps, and the diasporic experience between nostalgia and adaptation. 

This exhibition presents contemporary artwork reflecting on various aspects of Vietnamese postwar history, interspersed with historical artifacts and documents from everyday life. Featured artists include Ann Le, Antonius-Tín Bui, Binh Danh, Dinh Q. Lê, Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Hoang Duong Cam, Ngô Đình Bảo Châu, Nguyen Quang Huy, Nguyễn Thế Sơn, Nguyễn Văn Cường, Phan Quang, Phung Huynh,  Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Võ Trân Châu, Sandy Northrop, and Les Bird,  with a special collection from Art in the Camps (Garden Streams) Archive, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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