Works from the exhibition, Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans, currently showing at the Historic New Orleans Collection
Making It Home, Against All Odds
Review by Beth D’Addono
When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, many Vietnamese refugees fled the turmoil of their home, against all odds, by boat. They were labeled Boat People, when, and if they made it to safety.
Walk through the Historic New Orleans Collection’s powerful new exhibit, Making it Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans, and what that label meant to the more than 1,000 people who first settled here fifty years ago is brought starkly into focus. The exhibit takes a deep dive into the personal stories of first-generation Vietnamese refugees, using oral histories and photography to bear witness to the trauma, loss, hope, faith and family that sustained them in those early, difficult years.
One of the first bigger-than-life photos sure to cause a visceral reaction is captioned 'Adrift' (pictured above, left). Shot from above, it shows two boats in the water, with a small child being passed over the sea from one person to two men who reach for her as she dangles in mid-air. Knowing that countless thousands died at sea, victims of pirates or on overcrowded, makeshift boats brings this trauma into harsh relief.
Thousands of those refugees made their way to New Orleans, creating a vibrant community that now numbers more than 14,000. This first generation is portrayed with great empathy and insight by photographer Mark Spindler, who moved into the Versailles Arms Apartments in New Orleans East to chronicle the community’s resettlement. Funded by state and National Endowment of the Arts grants, Spindler spent from 1978 to 1987 bearing witness to the resilience, grace and strength on display in New Orleans East. Their Catholic faith was a lynchpin to the settlement, which was supported by the archdiocese as well as Catholic Charities.
At first, Spindler was viewed with suspicion. “They kept asking me when I was going to go to work,” recalled the photographer, who studied anthropology at Tulane. The native New Yorker, now a resident of Lafayette, remembers telling them, “This is my work.
There were rumors that I was CIA,” he said. Before long, though, he made friends and was welcomed into their homes for home-made Vietnamese meals, invited to New Years' celebrations and even to wedding ceremonies. His lens bore witness, with great love and respect, to how the community kept ties to their culture while also embracing their new home.
Although compact, covering just a few circular galleries, Making it Home packs a strong cultural wallop. The combination of visuals, aural commentary and written stories weaves a tale of new neighbors surmounting incredible odds. New Orleans is a better city because of them.
Making it Home continues at the Historic New Orleans Collection through October 4. Admission is free. C lick here for more information and visiting hours.
Review by Beth D’Addono
When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, many Vietnamese refugees fled the turmoil of their home, against all odds, by boat. They were labeled Boat People, when, and if they made it to safety.
Walk through the Historic New Orleans Collection’s powerful new exhibit, Making it Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans, and what that label meant to the more than 1,000 people who first settled here fifty years ago is brought starkly into focus. The exhibit takes a deep dive into the personal stories of first-generation Vietnamese refugees, using oral histories and photography to bear witness to the trauma, loss, hope, faith and family that sustained them in those early, difficult years.
One of the first bigger-than-life photos sure to cause a visceral reaction is captioned 'Adrift' (pictured above, left). Shot from above, it shows two boats in the water, with a small child being passed over the sea from one person to two men who reach for her as she dangles in mid-air. Knowing that countless thousands died at sea, victims of pirates or on overcrowded, makeshift boats brings this trauma into harsh relief.
Thousands of those refugees made their way to New Orleans, creating a vibrant community that now numbers more than 14,000. This first generation is portrayed with great empathy and insight by photographer Mark Spindler, who moved into the Versailles Arms Apartments in New Orleans East to chronicle the community’s resettlement. Funded by state and National Endowment of the Arts grants, Spindler spent from 1978 to 1987 bearing witness to the resilience, grace and strength on display in New Orleans East. Their Catholic faith was a lynchpin to the settlement, which was supported by the archdiocese as well as Catholic Charities.
At first, Spindler was viewed with suspicion. “They kept asking me when I was going to go to work,” recalled the photographer, who studied anthropology at Tulane. The native New Yorker, now a resident of Lafayette, remembers telling them, “This is my work.
There were rumors that I was CIA,” he said. Before long, though, he made friends and was welcomed into their homes for home-made Vietnamese meals, invited to New Years' celebrations and even to wedding ceremonies. His lens bore witness, with great love and respect, to how the community kept ties to their culture while also embracing their new home.
Although compact, covering just a few circular galleries, Making it Home packs a strong cultural wallop. The combination of visuals, aural commentary and written stories weaves a tale of new neighbors surmounting incredible odds. New Orleans is a better city because of them.
Making it Home continues at the Historic New Orleans Collection through October 4. Admission is free. C lick here for more information and visiting hours.