“We’re all creative,” according to Ngoc-Tran Vu ’00, a Steppingstone Alumna from the class of 2000. “I believe we are all artists. It’s about how we embrace and express our creativity, about remaining open to and deeply exploring our cultural backgrounds and family lineages; I think it’s incredibly important.”

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Ngoc-Tran Vu ‘00, also known as Tran, is a graduate of the Winsor School, Brown University, and New York University, where she earned a master's in arts and politics. She is a multimedia artist and strategic consultant with over 15 years of experience. Tran's work focuses on telling stories of migration, displacement, and resilience through projects that uplift and empower marginalized communities. By blending art with community activism, she seeks to connect diverse cultures and inspire meaningful social change.

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Currently, she is leading 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Commemoration Initiative with the hardworking 1975 team, which honors the stories and legacies of the war in Vietnam. The community-led initiative includes two main projects: The 1975 Oral Stories Initiative, which collects and preserves personal and community stories, and 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial, a public art project with a vision to be permanently installed on public land in Boston’s Little Saigon Cultural District. Tran is the lead artist and project director for the memorial.

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The Path to Creativity

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Tran recalls loving art at a very young age in grade school and how her love flourished over time with support from the people around her. “I remember doing art, and I always found myself in the flow, not thinking about anything else. I felt like ideas just kept coming, which was an indicator for me. I got a lot of compliments from my teachers and peers, too.” It wasn't until Tran was older that she decided she wanted art to be her primary profession, given that it was such a non-traditional path to follow.

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Tran found that Steppingstone's program and community helped her to really focus on her classes and her passions; she also learned how to decide for herself.“Steppingstone has been such a significant component of my journey, my family’s journey, my sisters’ journeys,” Tran says. “It helped put us on a path to college and helped us navigate the educational realm. It supported me on this path where I am able to pursue whatever I want, to really understand the landscapes and systems.” 

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Tran went on to double major in visual arts and ethnic studies at Brown University. She has been involved with Steppingstone for 25 years now. 

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“I’m always connected to the Alumni network, to all the incredible people I’ve met along the way as well as the Steppingstone leadership. I’m really proud to be a Steppingstone Alum and proud to see the expansive network and how much it helps support young people to thrive.”

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She has many fond memories of her time at Steppingstone’s Academy: 

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“I remember going to Canobie Lake. I remember [my Advisor] Ms. Diaz and going to Milton Academy over the summer, waiting for the bus in our t-shirts and LL Bean book bags. I remember being so committed to the after school programs, seeing graduation ceremonies, the Kudos granola bars they gave us, the super fun talent show full of really driven but supportive kids. And I remember the faculty and dean, and Ms. Diaz went home on the subway with me because she wanted to ensure I got home okay. I was like, wow, she really cares.”

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Honoring Legacies Through Community-Driven Art

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The seeds of 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Commemoration Initiative were planted in Tran’s mind long before its inception. When Tran was a child in Dorchester, her father, a war veteran from South Vietnam, would don military garb with his friends and colleagues and perform ceremonies and commemorations around Black April, April 30, 1975, the day that Saigon fell and South Vietnam was captured by North Vietnam.

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“They would do this at the Vietnam War Memorial in Dorchester, which only recognizes American veterans,” Tran explains. “No Vietnamese veterans or their names are represented despite a war resulting in the loss of over 2 million Vietnamese lives.”

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That’s when Tran began conceptualizing 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial. She wanted to create something permanent that honored her community. 

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“I started thinking about spatial justice,” she explains. “About who does the public belong to? Whose voices get heard and amplified? How do we center community voices?” 

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The memorial is dedicated to honoring Vietnamese families and communities impacted by the war and its lasting effects. The project aims to encourage connection, address loss and grief, and bridge generational divides. It is made in collaboration with the larger Vietnamese diaspora in Dorchester, including Vietnamese elders who experienced the war and their families. 

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“This project is groundbreaking because it really centers and amplifies local community voices from the start,” Tran says. “In a lot of public art projects, the engagement process comes later on and is really just like a rubber stamp process. But for our community, which has been silenced and misrepresented for so long; we’re really intentionally prioritizing our diaspora’s lived experiences and the trauma informed lens of this work.” A lot of war memorials focus on soldiers through a militaristic lens, but Tran and her team are doing something different. “We're trying to shift that focus and really think about the legacy of war and memories and put the spotlight on families and communities that have been impacted. These are the voices that have often been silenced or misrepresented. We’re really trying to shift the narrative to the legacy of the war’s impact.”

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This year is an especially meaningful year for the 1975 Initiative as it is the 50th commemoration of the end of war in Vietnam. Tran is raising money for the permanent installation in Dorchester at https://givebutter.com/1975vietmemorial.

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“Going beyond that,” Tran says, “I believe it’s important to spread awareness about this project, encouraging people to reflect on our connection to the war, migration, and displacement.”

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Tran is also always open to collaboration and partnership, and to build relationships with anyone who wants to support local artists or this project.

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To budding artists and Steppingstone Scholars, Tran says, “Really be open to art. It’s not really practical in our current capitalistic world, but still, explore your own creativity and curiosity. Don’t take no for an answer, even if you encounter rejection. Just keep going and take it as a learning opportunity. Integrate art into your lives, and support each other, especially in these critical times.”

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Donate to Tran’s project here: https://givebutter.com/1975vietmemorial

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Visit her website and see her projects here: https://www.tranvuarts.com/1975vietdiaspora

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Follow Tran’s Instagram handle: @TranVuArts

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