"War is less an event with a distinct beginning and end, and more like a weather system—an oppressive and capricious atmosphere that settles over a people for generations, pressing differently upon each body beneath it. Brooklyn- and Hanoi-based writer and choreographer Anh Vo reaches for this metaphor because they know it well."
"Their curatorial framing drew on the cyclical reverberations of antiwar movements, tracing parallels between the suppression of protests by students in the United States during the 1960s and contemporary pro-Palestine activism. We Exist acknowledged the imperial overhang shaping Vietnam's cultural field, where international funders—the Rockefellers, the Goethe-Institut, and the Japan Foundation—exert subtle influence."
"Rather than stage a commemorative gesture centered on American memory amid state-sanctioned and university-supported programming—which is often drained of urgency—the organizers reoriented their time and resources toward artists within Vietnam's cultural vanguard."
War operates as an enduring atmospheric condition rather than a bounded event, pressing differently on each person across generations. Brooklyn- and Hanoi-based choreographer Anh Vo explores this metaphor through a performance event at Performance Space New York featuring four Vietnam-based artists-in-residence. The event, titled We Exist in the Ambivalence of Those Motherfuckers, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the American War's end in Vietnam. Organized by Anh Vo, Lumi Tan, and maura nguyễn donohue, the programming included lectures, collaborations, and publishing projects. The curatorial approach drew parallels between 1960s American student protest suppression and contemporary pro-Palestine activism, while acknowledging how international funders shape Vietnam's cultural field. Rather than creating commemorative programming centered on American memory, organizers prioritized Vietnam's cultural vanguard artists.
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