PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland State University Art Practice student Lillyanne Pham is using a $10,000 award to preserve the stories of several Vietnamese people in Portland in a way she hopes will connect all people.
The Andries Deinum Prize for Visionaries and Provocateurs award, given annually by the PSU College of the Arts, honors Deinum, a film professor who founded the school’s Center for the Moving Image. Pham is this year’s recipient.
“I think that in terms of when you think of the Vietnamese story, it’s always like archival photos of the war or it’s always starting, like, with the U.S. in the picture,” Pham told KOIN 6 News. “This project is not going to be connected to the war. It’s going to be in the context of it. Obviously, it’s important, but we’re so much more.”
She’s focused on preserving the stories of 4 different family units and will use a 3D scanner to capture meaningful objects and places from photos along with audio recordings.
Pham aims to have this project finished by September 2024. Her vision is to make it so anyone can experience “thường” — Vietnamese for love — by going to the sites with stories and scanning a QR code to see the augmented reality. A website will include links to a map, video and more.
Elizabeth Dinh filed this video report.
