Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist 

The “Vietnamese Immigrating Garden” project combines influences from various social environments on immigrant communities, along with TUAN Mami’s recent research during his residency in Taiwan, which involved extensive fieldwork across the country. The project captures the experiences of Vietnamese migrant workers, international students, and new residents as they cultivate hometown vegetables and herbs in their living spaces, transforming these activities into a gathering of personal stories, seed sharing, and cultural distribution. In doing so, it tenderly brings together the self-identity and relationships of these migrants and laborers. Through this quiet yet powerful process that fosters a sense of stability and belonging, TUAN uses artistic actions to connect the lives of migrants, encouraging different communities to share resources, spread information, and create a space that fosters an alternative dialogue and attentive listening. (Commentator: LIN Yi-Hsiu)

Artwork Introduction

The “Silent Garden” project builds upon TUAN Mami’s research into plants associated with Vietnamese immigrants, spanning from Asia to the West. It also explores the relationship between plants and human emotions, memories, culture, and political issues. The project aims to reconsider the history of human migration by examining the flora left by colonizers, invaders, political refugees, migrant laborers, economic immigrants, and students. Emphasizing the dialogue between “nature and human power,” it investigates how this interaction influences our minds and daily experiences while reflecting the hierarchical systems present in political, power, welfare, and social structures. By fostering open dialogue, the project aspires to promote equality, cultivate more compassionate environments, and provide insights into the evolving political ecology.

About the Artist

TUAN Mami, born in 1981, is an experimental interdisciplinary artist based in Hanoi, Vietnam. He works with site-specific installation, video, performance, and conceptual art, through which he skillfully explores various mediums, meanings, and methods using reflective inquiry and social investigation. His work focuses on everyday life, the social relationships between individuals, and human investigations into the environment. By conducting these inquiries, he constructs specific realities that connect the contexts of people or objects, intervening in and involving them together in a social process.

Production Team

Artist: Tuan Mami

Art consultant: Joyce Ho

Assitant: Linh Meo 

[Vietnamese Immigrating Garden in Taiwan] Management Members:

Đinh Thị Thu, Nguyễn Thị Hoài, Nguyễn Nhã Khải Lâm( Qúy), Nguyễn Liên Hương (Katie), Phạm Út Quyên, Phan Hồng Cẩm, Vĩnh Toàn, Nguyễn Mạnh Tuấn, Vũ Hải Yến RTI, Tường Vy, Thu Hằng TV, Phan Xuân Quỳnh

Supporters:

Phạm thị Mỏng Family, Kim Hồng& Khuôn Viên Văn Hóa Việt Nam（越在嘉文化棧）, Judy Nguyễn Hồng Huệ & Mama Thoa Hoàng, Thương Mai Familly, Phạm Mỹ Dung, Lê Quốc Tuấn & CLB Giao Lưu Âm Nhạc Việt Tại Đài Loan, Dưa Chuột Bự, Đặng Thanh Sơn, Nguyễn Lễ, Nghiệp Vũ, Music Viet Đài Group, Nhà sách SEAMI (望見書間), Quán Hương Vị Việt （越有味）, Quán Ăn Việt Nam Hồng Cẩm（紅錦越式料理）

Volunteers:

 Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, Andy Tran, Tiffany Lay, Clarissa Bongiovanni, Daniel Hüttler, David Agudelo Restrepo, Estefanía Izaguirre, Leo Barton, Matsuri Yamana, Waii Natnaree, Perla Perdomo, Sahra Azadzoy, Lu Chih Hsin, 王思棋, 呂芷欣, 蔡佩蓁, 郭恩碩, 林信懷, 劉珮琦, 劉庭穎, 孫薏喬, 王威中, 丁翊恩 ……

Kuandu Museum Of Fine Arts:

Museum Director | Huang Chien-Hung

Production team | Chang Chia-Huan, Ho Yu-Kuan, Wang Hsiao-Hua, Hsieh Yi- Hua, Tsai Shang-Yu