Names of people in our core group: David Nguyen, Nguyen Qui Duc, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Kathy Nguyen, Lan Duong, Mariam B. Lam, Viet Le, Viet Thanh Nguyen.

Names of people in our advisory committee: Nguyen Vo Thu-Huong, Truong Tran, Monique Truong, Ysa Le, Linda Trinh Vo, Quang Bao.

(Checks of any amount can be made to “The Intersection for the Arts (for DVAN)”, 446 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94103.) Donations are tax deductible.

DIASPORA VIETNAMESE ARTISTS NETWORK (DVAN)
PROPOSAL SUMMARY (for general support)

To enhance the quality of life through the arts, advance human rights, and create sustainable communities, the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) is seeking financial support of $5,000 to establish our organization. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and greater Los Angeles, DVAN is a group composed of academics, artists, and organizers committed to advancing Vietnamese American art and to bringing Vietnamese cultural productions from the diaspora to the United States.
Our aim is to promote artists from the Vietnamese diaspora whose work in literature, visual art, film, and performance art enriches our communities and strengthens ties between Vietnamese across the globe. We will support this body of work through cultural events, exhibits, conferences and publications that explore the connections between art and society. Unlike other Vietnamese art organizations, this organization is international in scope. It provides resources and promotes the works of Vietnamese artists in the United States, France, Canada, and Australia in particular, as these countries host the largest Vietnamese communities overseas.
In addition to building the organization’s infrastructure, our goal this year is to organize one reading of Vietnamese poets from the diaspora as part of the San Francisco International Poetry Festival and a Film Festival at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. These events will be free to the public and will be an opportunity to bring public awareness to Vietnamese cultural productions in the mainstream.
The first event, an International Vietnamese Poets Festival, is organized in conjunction with The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman. It will be held at the Fort Mason Conference Center (300 seats) on November 8, 2008. We would like the first part of the festival to highlight the works of Vietnamese American poets Truong Tran (author of dust and conscience), Linh Dinh (author of Drunkard Boxing), le thi diem thuy (author of The Gangster We Are All Looking For), Barbara Tran (editor of Watermark), and award-winning spoken word poet Bao Phi. We would like for the second part of the festival to feature Vietnamese poets living outside the United States: Tran Sa from Canada, Thuong Quan from Australia, Mong Lan (author of Why Is the Edge Always Windy?) from Japan, and Linda Le (author of Slander) from France.
The second event, scheduled for December 2008, is a Film Festival titled “Cinema in the Mix: Diaspora, Displacement, and the Moving Image.” DVAN will produce this festival in conjunction with the panel discussions and art exhibition of “transPOP: Korea Vietnam Remix Symposium,” scheduled at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. DVAN would like to showcase some of the following movies: Hello, Stranger (2007) by Kim Dong-hyun (feature), The Villains (2007) by Chang Hoon (short fiction), Never Perfect (2007) by Regina Miyoung Park (documentary), Going Home (2006) by Hung P. Nguyen (documentary short) and Say It, Don’t Spray It (2008) by Tuan Andrew Nguyen (documentary). These five films are eloquent testimony to the displacement of being in the diaspora.
Our core members and advisory committee live and work in the United States and in Viet Nam. All of us have ample organizing experience promoting literature, films and/or visual art. Our goal is to move beyond the boundaries of national identities and alleviate the pressures imposed by the institutionalization of art and the publishing or movie industries, which often showcase, for example, certain representations of identity over others.
DVAN’s fiscal sponsor is Intersection for the Arts (San Francisco), a non-profit 501©(3) organization. DVAN has partnered with Intersection through its incubator program. By supporting DVAN, you will be directly involved in helping to bring Vietnamese American and Vietnamese diasporic cultural work to the forefront of the local art, literary, and cinematic communities. The premiere of our events will bring publicity to all involved. Your contribution and sponsorship of one of the events will be acknowledged in our programs.
Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Isabelle Thuy Pelaud at (415) 608-7855 or Viet Nguyen at (323) 252-7994. DVAN looks forward to establishing a relationship with you to carry out its mission of promoting Vietnamese writers, poets, performers, painters, and filmmakers in the diaspora.
Checks of any amount can be made to “The Intersection for the Arts (for DVAN)”, 446 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94103. ****

http://www.acasf.com/

Asian Chefs Foundation &
Chefs Without Borders present
Anti Human-Trafficking Gala
Tickets on Sale Now
Friday, March 21, 2008, 6:30 pm – 10 pm
San Francisco Hilton Hotel – 333 O’Farrell Street
Participating chefs: Ana Mandara, Aqua, California Culinary Academy, John Bentley’s, Joseph Schmidt Confections, Michael Mina San Francisco, Manresa, Nikko Hotel San Francisco, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion, Straits Restaurants, Rubicon, San Francisco Hilton, Sushi Ran, Martin Yan, Roy Yamaguchi …..more to come…. ***
About Us:
Our chef founders all had a common vision and strong desire to develop a community of chefs to share and develop their passion of Asian-Inspired cuisine, which led to the formation of the Asian Chefs Association. ACA values its involvement in the community and culinary industry.The ACA was formed in 2002 to provide Asian chefs with a forum to share ideas and promote Asian-Inspired. ACA promotes the art of Asian-Inspired cuisine with its innovative Taste of Asia dinner series, a fresh and creative way to sample the diversity of ACA culinary delights.
The Goals of ACA
• To foster and nurture a supportive community of culinary professionals
• To share experience, knowledge and skills about Asian-Inspired cuisine
• To promote and enhance public and media awareness of Asian-Inspired cuisine
• To educate chefs about various aspects of restaurant and culinary business
• To nurture developing chefs through mentoring opportunities
• To give back to the Asian community through its charitable arm Asian Chiefs Foundation