VMHS Legacy Project
2023HD video, stereo sound, with subtitles
16 mins 34 secs
Vietnamese Northern Lullaby (Ru con miền bắc) sung by: Koa Pham
Sound design: Rob Szeliga
Vietnamese translation: Mai-Thi Nguyen
With thanks for helping at the Reimagining Workshop: Mai-Thi Nguyen, Amie Tran and Amie’s Brother, Chip, Thao, Thao Khuat, Dr Lili Ly, Dr Angela Bryne, Jack Shieh OBE, Quynh Nguyen, Beatrix Pang.
Commissioned by the Vietnamese Mental Health Services (VMHS) to coincide with the closure of the organisation.
This film explores the history and legacy of the VMHS, a mental health charity set up in 1989 in the UK for Vietnamese communities, weaving interviews with service users and director, Jack Shieh OBE.
The film was made to be screened at the Vietnamese Mental Health Services 35th Anniversary and Farewell Party on Friday 15th September 2023 and VMHS website. It was screened again at the ‘Reimagining Vietnamese Mental Health Workshop’ at the Vietnamese Mental Health Services and Downside Fisher Youth Club on Sunday 1st October 2023 followed by an in conversation with Jack Shieh, Lili Ly, Angela Bryne, Will Pham and Mai-Thi Nguyen. The audiences were invited to take part in a version of ‘Recipes of Life’ workshop over hot pot and the day ended with a reading from ‘Duc Van Minh’, a book project made in collaboraion with Beatrix Pang.
Pham was invited to contribute the full transcipt of the film with image stills as part of ‘How to Sleep Faster Issue 14: Mental Health and Art in Crisis’ edited by Maggie Matić and published by Arcadia Missa Press 2014:
https://arcadiamissa.com/product/how-to-sleep-faster-14/
From (Counter-)Archives to Activation
esea contemporary in Manchester2024
Screened as part of a wider series of programs convened by Xiaowen Zhu.
https://www.eseacontemporary.org/projects/from-counter-archives-to-activation
Institutional archives often reinforce narratives rooted in established, centralised, and authoritarian perspectives. They reflect a categorisation system – of documents and accounts – formalised through power-backed discourses. While archives embody power, the act of counter-archiving aims to destabilise their projected authority. Who holds the right to speak, to be documented, to exist not solely as statistics but as lived human experiences? What influences, supports, and undermines archival strategies and models within our society? What is the meaning of authenticity, subjectivity, and hegemony in this context? Can oral history facilitate intertextuality and counter-archiving to re-evaluate the narratives entrenched within institutional structures?
Founded 37 years ago by trailblazing artists, esea contemporary's evolution mirrors a well-trodden path, transitioning from an independent, underground force in Manchester to a state-funded national portfolio organisation. It’s been a journey not without its fair share of setbacks, crises, and repositioning, reflecting the challenges inherent in the very diasporic communities we seek to amplify. Yet, each of these experiences has enriched our perspectives, providing nuanced insights into the coexistence of glory and shadow, the legacy and knowledge gained, and the dynamic interplay between archives and counter-archives.
Entering the second year of programming following the institute’s transformation, we find it opportune to activate our platform through the lens of archives and counter-archives in collaboration with our extensive network of collaborators and co-workers. Throughout our summer programme, from May to August, 2024, we will actively listen to, engage with, speak out about, write down, touch upon, and look into a diverse array of archival and counter-archival materials. This journey aims to highlight a multiplicity of perspectives while charting a course towards a more outward- and forward-looking framework. As we explore these materials, we remain attuned to the complexities of power dynamics, acknowledging the agency to navigate these exchanges with openness and respect. Through our collaboration with artists, curators, thinkers, scholars, and communities, we seek to foreground pluralistic narratives and empower individuals to shape their own histories.
Contributors include Dr Cangbai Wang, Zixin Li, Slavs and Tatars, Hester Yang, Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai, Will Pham, Clare Chun-yu Liu, Sarah Marsh, Nguyễn Trinh Thi, Huang Pang-Chuan, Chung Hong Iu, Prapat Jiwarangsan, Simon Liu, Guangli Liu, Jittarin Wuthiphan, Shireen Seno, Darren Lin, Jasmine Gardner, and Alison Lam.
https://www.eseacontemporary.org/events/an-inverted-journey-of-counter-archiving
Throughout July 2024, esea contemporary's Gallery will feature 'An Inverted Journey of Counter Archiving' as part of our Summer Programme 'From (Counter-) Archives to Activation.' This dynamic programme showcases a selection of 13 moving-image works by artists alongside related archival and visual materials. These selected works offer a critical examination – through an artistic lens and research – which seeks to destabilise entrenched power dynamics and foster a thought-provoking understanding and representation of memory and history.
'An Inverted Journey of Counter Archiving' invites viewers to delve into narratives that diverge from traditional approaches to archiving, offering parallel, decolonising perspectives on historiography.
Programme schedule:
2-6 July, ‘The Undesirables’ by Hester Yang
9-13 July, ‘Appendix A: ocean gazing’ by Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai; ‘VMHS Legacy Project’ by Will Pham
16-20 July, ‘This is China of a particular sort, I do not know’ and ‘Another beautiful dream’ by Clare Chun-yu Liu
23-27 July, ‘Tomorrow’s History’, curated by Sine Screen, featuring works by Nguyễn Trinh Thi, Huang Pang-Chuan, Chung Hong Iu, Prapat Jiwarangsan, Simon Liu, Guangli Liu, Jittarin Wuthiphan, Shireen Seno, and Darren Lin
‘VMHS Legacy Project’ by Will Pham
2023, 16 mins 34 sec with English subtitles, HD video, stereo sound
Commissioned by the Vietnamese Mental Health Services (VMHS) to coincide with the closure of the organisation, this film explores the history and legacy of the VMHS, a mental health charity set up in 1989 in the UK for Vietnamese communities. The film weaves together interviews with service users and the director, Jack Shieh OBE, and reflects upon the organisation's previous projects, such as "Recipes of Life" and "Light Conversations," as alternative forms of mental health approaches. The film is part of a wider series of projects to archive and reimagine the VMHS for a new audience inside and outside of the community.
Photograph by Jules Lister. Image courtesy of esea contemporary.
Film stills
Film screening at the
Vietnamese Mental Health Services 35th Anniversary and Farewell Party on Friday 15th September 2023
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Reimagining Vietnamese Mental Health Workshop at the Vietnamese Mental Health Services and Downside Fisher Youth Club on Sunday 1st October 2023
Reimagining Vietnamese Mental Health Workshop at the Vietnamese Mental Health Services and Downside Fisher Youth Club on Sunday 1st October 2023
Photograph by Jules Lister. Image courtesy of esea contemporary.
The film was also exhibited at Danielle Arnaud Gallery in London in March-April 2025. Photos coming soon.
The film was also exhibited at Danielle Arnaud Gallery in London in March-April 2025. Photos coming soon.