“House of Mother Tongue, House of Other Tongue”
Hoang Tran Nguyen
29 Oct → 18 Dec 2022

A paper poster in English and Vietnamese to save the Vietnamese bilingual program at Footscray Primary School, stuck to a yellow pole.
Hoang Tran Nguyen, ‘House of Mother Tongue, House of Other Tongue’, 2022. Image courtesy of artist.

Presented by Footscray Community Arts and West Space

Across West Space and Footscray Community Arts Centre, House of Mother Tongue, House of Other Tongue addresses colonial legacies of monolingualism and its impact on minority languages, power and subjectivity.

Beyond the gallery, House of Mother Tongue, House of Other Tongue includes a day-long Language and Community Symposium facilitated by language advocacy group ViệtSpeak at Footscray Community Arts, and Hát Xe Buýt, a ‘singing bus’, co-curated with Lana Nguyen and hosted by language advocates, musicians, poets, educators and local choirs as audiences are transported between the venues on select days.

House of Mother Tongue, House of Other Tongue is presented as part of NEIGHBOURHOOD, a new arts festival co-presented by Footscray Community Arts and The Substation. The 17-day festival is a celebration of contemporary art, music and performance across the western suburbs of Melbourne. Based around expanded ideas of language and translation, NEIGHBOURHOOD reflects the current moment and highlights artistic practice in Melbourne.

This exhibition is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts: Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups.

Public Program

Hát Xe Buýt (Singing Bus) Schedule

Footscray Community Arts to West Space
Saturday 12th, 19th, and 26th November 2022.
10.00AM and 1.30PM departure.

West Space to Footscray Community Arts
Saturday 12th, 19th, and 26th November 2022.
11.30AM and 3.00PM departure.

Hát Xe Buýt (Singing Bus) is a bus-ride co-curated by Hoang Tran Nguyen and Lana Nguyen will ferry audiences across the two exhibitions. This hosted journey will feature performers and artists across cultural and social movements, engaging guests on notions of place and practices of language reclamation and justice. Hosts include legendary poet πO, Timmah Ball, Beth Sometimes and Tania Cañas.

ViệtSpeak Language and Community Symposium

Sunday 27 November, Footscray Community Arts

Emerging from the loss of the Vietnamese Bilingual Program and based in Melbourne’s west, advocacy group ViệtSpeak will present the Language and Community Symposium. The day’s program will feature workshops by Đất Nước Collective, Thảo Nguyễn and Kids’ Own Publishing. Three discussion panels by leading scholars, educators and artists will speak of localized language practices and forms of language justice. Panels will be lead by writer Chi Vu and scholars Helen Ngo and Julie Choi.

Hoang Tran Nguyen is an artist working in social practice to address overlapping cultural histories, politics of place and the role of the art-worker. His work has featured in self-initiated projects arts festivals and galleries. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Victorian College of the Arts (University of Melbourne).