Episode 13: James Nguyen – On belonging and resilience in a changing world

Vietnamese Translation of Acknowledgement of Country, On The Border of Things (2016-ongoing), in collaboration with Nguyen Thi Kim, Nhung, Cong Ai Nguyễn, developed for PACT, Next Wave, ACE Open.

An Australian National Song, James Nguyen with Rollin Zhao, Donica Tran, Amy You, and Victoria Pham, Ian Potter Melbourne University, 2022. Image by James Nguyen.

James Nguyen, Craneshot, performances with cinematography, 2014. Image courtesy the artist.

Speculative Didactics, wall texts in white spaces 2016-ongoing, internet images of empty galleries photoshoped with exhibition text. Image by the artist.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the word ‘belonging’. What does it really mean and why do we want it so badly? What does it mean to belong to a community, to a culture, to a state, and to the world? Do we ever really, truly belong somewhere? I guess this has alot to do with shaping our identity and not wanting to be or feel alone in life. Our longing for connection is real as we are all, in one way or another, social creatures. So perhaps belonging actually starts with the self and finding connections through the many changing seasons of our lives.

For this episode, I invited artist James Nguyen who is based in Naarm, Melbourne. James works with video, writing, collaboration, and social performances. We spoke about James’ childhood experience migrating from Vietnam to Australia, adapting to Australia at such a young age, and the ways in which he has come to terms with belonging, self-worth, and resilience in a world that’s constantly changing.

About James Nguyen

James Nguyen is a Naarm-based artist working mostly with video, writing, collaboration, and social performance. He has a Doctorate from the University of NSW, and was trained at the Sydney College of Arts, the National Art School, and UnionDocs Centre for Documentary Arts (NYC). He has exhibited at the National 2019, Next Wave Festival and ACE Open in Australia and has commissions from the Sydney Opera House, the Australian War Memorial and support from the Anne and Gordan Samstag Fellowship, Millumbuk Arts, the Clithroe Foundation, the Australian Council for the Arts, Create NSW, and Creative Victoria. 

James is currently working on ‘Open Glossary’ an exhibition with Chris Xu, Kate Ten Buuren, Tamsen Hopkison, and Budi Sudarto for ACCA in 2023. He continues to present highly acclaimed and lacklustre work and presentations all over the world, including Albury, Bankstown, Vienna, Guangzhou, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Find out more at jamesnguyens.com

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.