An Hà
An Hà (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Boston. His practice centers on finding, collecting, arranging, and orchestrating materials such as discarded photographs, household dust, clothes, toys, and furniture. He stages and animates these materials to explore the poetic language within the everyday objects. His work evokes a sense of intimacy, where meaning is not overtly stated but subtly suggested. Through the transformation of discarded materials, Hà turns absence into presence, revealing what we carry with us and in us.
Hà is a co-founder of Copenger, a curatorial and arts programming collective centered on community, organizing experimental gatherings across both conventional and unconventional spaces in the Greater Boston area. Hà was also a recipient of the Julie Graham Prize from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and was named a traveling fellow for Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize from Tufts University. He attended the Yale Norfolk School of Art in 2025 and is set to graduate with a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in 2026.
Household dust, found drawer
17 x 20.5 in.
Courtesy of the artist
Household dust, found drawer,
17 x 20.5 in.
Courtesy of the artist
Household dust, paper crane, found drawer,
33.5 x 24 in.
Courtesy of the artist
Work Description
These works are part of an ongoing series where I collect discarded photographs from thrift stores and pair them with drawers salvaged from the street. I reconstruct the images using household dust gathered from both personal and public spaces. The found images are given a new resting place. The images, created with dust, appear as if they have accumulated in this way within the drawer over time. Some of these empty drawers come in sizes as big as my own torso.
Artist Interview
Can you tell us about your artistic practice and the major influences that have affected your work?
I am an interdisciplinary artist based in Boston, and my practice spans found object sculpture, site responsive installations, and experimental gatherings. I explore non-linguistic communication—the shared language of objects, gestures, hospitality, and being in space together. My work aims to reorient people, inviting them to question or become aware of their positions and surroundings. I believe that awareness of subtleties is a way we come to understand our environment and ourselves.
I think about my mother and her overlooked, almost invisible labor.
Can you describe your creative process through the use of materials?
I’m interested in overlooked, discarded, and no longer wanted materials and objects. I’ve been thinking about and working with household dust, mop water, and domestic items. I want to draw attention to materials that somehow exist on the peripheries, to bring them into focus and explore what we can learn from them.
What does the 50 year anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese American community (and in general varying diasporic Vietnamese communities) mean to you? What does it look like?
The 50-year anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese American community represents both remembrance and renewal. It’s a commemoration of survival but also an invitation to think about what it means to belong, to inherit, and to continue shaping the Vietnamese American narrative.
It’s about reflecting on the past and looking forward with possibility.
What are you hoping for viewers to take away from the exhibition and your work?
Art allows people to insert themselves into a space of reflection. I hope viewers can engage with and reflect on the diverse experiences and narratives that the artists bring to this exhibition, and in doing so, acknowledge and appreciate the many stories that have shaped our community.
How do you feel about the notion of cultural memory and creating/re-telling forms of personal history through your work?
I’ve always believed that the more personal something is, the more relatable it becomes to others. What we often consider deeply personal is something many people experience; though these feelings and stories are usually kept hidden. Through my works, I hope to bring these personal narratives to the surface, creating space for vulnerability, shared understanding, and collective healing. By telling our stories, we can connect and move forward together.