Kvet Nguyễn | Till the Water Meets the Shore

The extensive monographic exhibition presents the latest work of the Slovak Vietnamese artist Kvet Nguyễn. It is conceived as a visual reading of chapters from the story of the Vietnamese diaspora in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia – from post-war migration during the period of socialist internationalism, through the pivotal moment of the Velvet Revolution, up to the present day.

A pivotal historical moment to which the exhibition returns is the so-called Chrastava children of 1956. Their arrival in Chrastava near Liberec marked the beginning of the story of the Vietnamese community in Czechoslovakia, a story that continued to develop across generations. The connection to this place creates a unique context that still resonates in collective memory as well as in contemporary discussions about migration, home, and belonging. For this reason, the exhibition is undoubtedly important within our curatorial and conceptual work. It is tied to the context of a local place while at the same time supporting—and showing solidarity with—the current Slovak artistic community.

The work of Kvet Nguyễn is also a search for a visual language capable of capturing the tension of collective trauma and transforming it toward a vision of a more just future. Her works deliberately open up space for dreaming, hope, and the expression of desires that can act as a catalyst for change. The exhibition includes various media—from installation, objects, video, textile photographs, and a photographic archive to documentary photography. In her practice, Nguyễn often engages with archival materials—official documents and period media that were strongly influenced by racist and xenophobic narratives. This material, which challenges the notion of the “colonial innocence” of Central European post-socialist countries, becomes a starting point for the artist. Through searching for and presenting suppressed voices, she pays tribute to the resilience of marginalized communities and opens a space for both collective and individual resistance. The exhibition is the second loose continuation of the exhibition Till the Water Meets the Shore at the Bratislava City Gallery, and is more deeply rooted in the context of Liberec through the story of the Chrastava children.

The exhibition is a reprise of an exhibition project presented by the Bratislava City Gallery in 2025.

Partners of the exhibition: Bratislava City Gallery, City of Liberec, Czech Viet, Premedis Foundation

The exhibition opening will take place on Friday, 16 October at 6:00 pm.