The Missing Piece Project envisions a collective dedication at the Vietnam Memorial Wall each April 30 by Southeast Asian refugees and other community members still affected by the war in Southeast Asia. Dedications have occured in 2018 and 2019, building up to a large-scale dedication on April 30, 2025, the 50th anniversary of the end of the war and the beginning of many refugee journeys. This year, due to Covid-19, our dedication is virtual. This video is part of the virtual dedication. It includes images of a gong made from 3000 melted bullet casings by Stephanie Mercedes, to represent 1/1000 of the estimated 3 million who lost their lives during the war; movements performed by Antonius Bui; a story told by Trần Văn Tâm; and poetry by Keva Bui and Joseph Nguyen. Visit our digital archive to learn more about the objects that have or will be dedicated at the memorial.
You can also read more on diaCRITICS about The Missing Piece Project in this collective interview and this project profile (featured in honor of last year’s April 30th).
April 30, 2020 Video Dedication: Gong-making, Movement, Poems
ARTIST BIOS
Stephanie Mercedes is a Washington D.C. based artist who melts down weapons to make musical installations and excavates missing histories. Mercedes combines metal working, installation-art and performance. She hopes to take the materiality of violence and turn it into its opposite: music and art. www.stephaniemercedes.com
Antonius-Tín Bui (they/them pronouns) is a polydiscplincary artist currently based in New Haven, CT. http://www.antoniusbui.com
Dr. Kim Nguyen Tran is an arts educator, ethnomusicologist, and community organizer based in Los Angeles. She is resident ethnomusicologist for the arts organization Bridge to Everywhere (www.bridgetoeverywhere.org) and leader/participant of the Missing Piece Project (www.missingpieceproject.org).
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