xen nhà

Xen Nhà forever. việt lai artist currently on unceded Lenape Lands. b-roll of ephemera. for solid work go to xennha.com 

[ximoui]

Two year ago I asked to expand my experience in documentary-making and never did I imagine I'd be working on a memoir for a Vietnamese-American family and producing a short film with a Puerto Rican-American family. I'm honoured and thankful for the trust. 

[ximoui]

xen nhà forever.

I'm back. 

As I write this I’m thinking of how strange it is for me to immediately think about my addressee. Can writing not happen for the sake of writing? Can writing happen for the sake of not having an addressee? 

When I first started documenting my work on tumblr I made lots of wonderful connections and then eventually I moved to instagram to share more of my personal life on the internet. 

What I’ve found is that I miss or want to have a platform for sharing all kinds of content that shapes my work and life. I’ve come back on here hoping that I can have more fun documenting my practice again without the pressure of choosing the best (or most likeable?) version of me and my work.  

So let’s see how this goes and however long it lasts I will be fine with that. 

I’m glad to be here again – showing up for what matters to me. 

Here’s a photo of some things I archived with Tech Zine Fair ~  Flawless Hacks + Femme Mâché in NYC earlier this month. 

[ximoui]

mẹ ơi, you inspire me. cảm ơn.

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"Space Within"

Space Within Distance Waves Calm Space Slow Ripple Dissolve Sounds that travels, sounds that moves, sounds that stay and sounds that chill. The space within ...

tri minh chill me out mood 

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probably no one is listening on tumblr anymore but that’s okay because I’ll write for me. 

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Mình zine in Hong Kong!

My zine mình zine vol.ii made it all the way to Hong Kong to Display Distribute! This was the coolest request i received in my inbox late last year. Display Distribute is an exhibition space, distribution service, thematic inquiry and sometimes shop in Kowloon, Hong Kong. You can order my zine from their shop here.

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laying down night jasmine before I got everyone to close their eyes and hear my sound poems. 

photos by Anne Moffat 

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Liminal Presents

Performing a couple of sound poems at this on thursday night. I’ve decided that I’m going to pull back on some things this year and performing will be one of them. So this will probably be my last poetry performance (lol and it’s only january) for a while. It will be a very special night and I’ll be performing alongside some very creative asian-australians. 

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The stallholders lined up in a row. Fresh ink and new work. Zine fairs are the perfect place to come face to face with creators, and now you can flick through a zine and learn about the maker behind the magic from wherever you are. The first of its kind, our Digital Zine Fair is a space to discover the work of artists selected from the open callout. See their work, and read short interviews about what inspires them, how they found their community and advice for those starting out.

mình zine vol.ii + mini interview up now. 

[ximoui]

goodbye hello

I’ve been quiet for the last couple of months as I have been shifting through some changes in my life. In the last three months I was invited to run a radio workshop as part of of an LGBTIQ youth program in Geelong, a radio workshop at the Women’s Center for Creative Work in Los Angeles and table at the OC Zine Fair in Annaheim. I haven’t been involved in the zine community for a long time, but that’s where I started with my creative path and this blog 3 years ago. Tabling at the OC Zine Fest reminded me of how proud I am of mình zine vol.ii so I will still be selling it and printing it until I feel like it’s really had it’s time (keep an eye out for an online shop very soon!). 

Running the ‘Writing and Creating Sound Collages’ workshop at WCCW was a real treat and eye opener for me. It was incredible to work in a new city, with women and in a feminist space that I grew to love and respect. Also, the LA river behind WCCW was just dreamy af. If you ever get a chance to visit WCCW do not hesitate because they run incredible workshops there. My dream is to run more soundwalks and introduce people to the immersive and possibilities of radio. It’s going to happen. 

At this stage I’m putting Xen Nhà on hold. The name was all about the feeling of ‘being a stranger at home’ and emerged in my life 2 years ago when I was in Hà Nội. I no longer feel like a stranger at home but I am so grateful for what Xen Nhà brought to my life. I have lots of exciting things in the works and will keep this tumblr up for anyone who wants to reach me thru this avenue. hmu.

[ximoui]

Late Night Lit: Collisions

Last Wednesday I got to host and perform one poem at the Emerging Writers Festival’s Late Night Lit: Collisions held at 1000 pound bend. Performers included Bobuq Sayed (with Romy Fox doing sound), Elena Gomez, Adolfo Aranjuez and Soreti Kadir. We also had an open mic during the second half and it was the best open mic I’ve ever seen! Thankyou to Linh Thùy Nguyễn for curating an incredible night. 

Elena Gomez 

Bobuq Sayed and Romy Fox

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i love the way my full vietnamese name sounds when aired with the softest tongue “phạm phú thanh hằng”. 

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I am dreaming of making art like this one day. truly <3

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Radio interview on Women on the Line

photo by Leah Jing McIntosh 

So honoured to have been interviewed on 3CR’s Women on the Line with Areej Nur. Alongside myself was Linh Thùy Nguyễn chatting about Liminal Magazine. 

We chat all things Liminal Magazine, Asian-Australian voices and the power of autonomy in art. <3

Check it out here. 

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Human Rights Arts and Film Festival: Building Communities: Immigration & Integration Panel. Panellists included Bobuq Sayed, Marion Le, Santilla Chingaipe and myself. It was a hit! We covered the definition of 'home', negotiating belonging, flawed settlement services for refugees, failed leadership to govern with moral responsibility, media culpability in demonising minorities, structural racism, Indigenous people's dispossession and intracultural racism within migrant communities. 

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A Conversation with Thanh Hằng Phạm by LIMINAL

The dream team from LIMINAL magazine interviewed me. Check it out. It’s a new magazine featuring asian-australian creatives and I am so stoked and honored to be up there with a bunch of talented creatives doing wonderful work.

Photo by Leah Jing Mcintosh

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I finally got around to listening to my doco, Remotely Intimate, on All The Best. 

Remotely Intimate

What do you think of when you think of home? Is it where you are now or where you grew up? Is it a place you long for, somewhere in your family’s history, far from the roads and towns you move through today?

And what do you think of… when you think of love?

This week we’re traversing lands, borders and bloodlines to draw a map of lovers and of home. In this full-length audio feature by Thanh Hằng Phạm, a collection of voices and words to bridge distances between lovers, time and place.

Remotely intimate was made for the CBAA’s National Features and Documentary Series in 2016, a showcase of work made by new and emerging Australian radio producers. Thanh Hằng would like to thank Maddee, Gabi, Dawn, Alexis, Genesis and Nat for their insight and voices, as well as Wahe and Lakyn for composing music for this feature. To hear more great features in this series, visit nfds.org.au.

~

All The Best credits:

Executive Producer: Selena Shannon

Vic state coordinator: Bethany Atkinson-Quinton

SYN production manager: Beth Gibson

Community Coordinator: Chloe Gillespie

Host: Jessica Hamilton

Episode Compiler: Tegan Nicholls