Việt Lê, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Việt Lê’s practice as an artist, researcher and curator focuses on sexualities, spiritualities–the physical and the metaphysical. Their hybrid projects encompass experimental film, ritual performance, pain-tings, power objects/ installations and text towards a healing. Việt is the author of Return Engagements (Duke University Press, 2021, which received the 2023 Outstanding Book Award in Media and Visual Culture from the Association of Asian American Studies), and collaborated with Latipa on the art book White Gaze (Sming Sming Books | Candor Art, 2019). Việt received their M.F.A. from the University of California, Irvine, and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California (Department of American Studies & Ethnicity). Việt has taught at the college level for 24 years (UC Irvine, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Stanford, Irvine Valley College, Vermont College of Fine Arts), and is Professor Emeritus at California College of the Arts, San Francisco (Associate Professor and former Chair, Visual & Critical Studies graduate program). Fellowships include Fulbright-Hays, PEN Center USA, Stanford CCSRE Mellon Arts, among others. Lê has presented their work at Sàn Art Sài Gòn, Shanghai Biennale, Rio Gay Film Festival, National Gallery Singapore, the Smithsonian, Artpace, among other venues.
Việt curated Miss Saigon with the Wind (Highways, Santa Monica, 2005) and Charlie Don’t Surf! (Centre A, Vancouver, BC, 2005); and co-curated humor us (with Leta Ming and Yong Soon Min; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, LA, CA, 2008), transPOP: Korea Việt Nam Remix (with Yong Soon Min; Seoul, Sài Gòn, Irvine, San Francisco, 2008-09), the 2012 Taipei Kuandu Biennale, trânsfiguration (Slash Art SF), Love in the Time of War (UC Santa Barbara and SF Camerawork), and Việt Namdala (cocurated with Vicky Đỗ, Asian Art Museum SF 2027). Việt coorganized the 2015 Artistic Interventions confererence (Ph.D. workshops and symposium) in Hong Kong. Their projects have been featured in Newsweek Asia; The Korea Herald, The Toronto Star, Huffington Post, China Daily, Orange County Register, Bangkok Post, and The Cambodia Daily. Focused on global south indigenous shamanisms and knowledge traditions, Việt’s work seeks to share resources and wisdom among artists, healers, and researchers. Rooted in Southeast Asian cosmologies, Việt continues their training and practice as thầy đồng—a Vietnamese indigenous shaman-monk—through various mediums. _vietle (insta) seasal.org vietle.net (archive site)
Ysa Le
Executive Director Emeritus
Ysa began her art activism with the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) since 2000, serving as the Board President from 2004-2008, and then as Executive Director from 2008 until now. She co-founded Viet Film Fest in 2003.
Prior to VAALA, Ysa was a radio host for the Viet Nam California Radio (VNCR), from 1995 to 2010. She hosted a weekly show called “Vòng Chân Trời Văn Học Nghệ Thuật” (“The Art Horizon”), which covered interviews with various artists and art events. Her show was syndicated for Voice of America (VOA), which broadcasted in Vietnam. In 2005, Ysa was chosen by the Orange County Register as one of the “30 Vietnamese Americans to Watch” in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Vietnamese American community in the United States. She received the Arts and Culture (In-Language) Award from New California Media in 2003 for her article on Mimi News, reporting the revival of the traditional performance art Cải Lương in the Vietnamese community. She was awarded with the “Service Award” from the USC (University of Southern California) Asian Pacific Alumni Association in 2012.
Ysa received her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1994. She currently works as a clinical pharmacist at Providence Home Infusion Pharmacy in Anaheim, California.
Corey Linh
Communication & Outreach Manager
Corey Linh is the Communication and Outreach Manager at the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA), where she leads strategic communications, builds community partnerships, and amplifies the visibility of Vietnamese & Vietnamese diasporic arts and culture. She coordinates the promotion of Viet Film Fest, Viet Book Fest, and a wide range of art exhibitions, including Yellow Submarine Rising: Currents in Asian American Arts, an exhibition responding to the #StopAsianHate movement.
Hailing from the Bay Area, Corey is a classically trained actress who has brought Asian American narratives to life on stage, portraying Tuyet in Brackish, a contemporary exploration of a Vietnamese family in Galveston, Texas, and Linda in David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face. She is also creating an analog photography documentary project capturing the Vietnamese creative economy in Little Saigon, documenting her artistic practice alongside her work with VAALA.
Corey graduated with honors in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach, combining her understanding of human behavior with her passion for cultural advocacy and the arts. Outside of her professional and artistic endeavors, she enjoys embroidering, spending too much on crafting hobbies, bragging about her two sisters—a fashion designer and a stage manager—and hanging out with her cat and gecko.
Eric Nong
Artistic Director, Viet Film Fest
Born and raised in Orange County, CA, Eric Nong is a self-taught classic film buff who, since 2012, maintains a blog dedicated to movie write-ups. In addition to his passion for film, he has served as a volunteer and writer for Viet Film Fest 2018. Eric was also a part of Viet Film Fest 2019’s Curatorial Committee and volunteered during the 3-day event. Eric has a BA in Political Science from UC Irvine (also attended UC Santa Cruz for the first two years of undergrad); MPP from UCI with a focus on education and poverty alleviation. In his spare time, Eric volunteers his time to teach English to Buddhist monks at Chùa Bát Nhã in Santa Ana, CA.
Tran Lee
Associate Director, Viet Film Fest
Coming to the United States from Vietnam in 2017, Tran has always been seeking after opportunities that allow her to promote her culture through the lenses of arts. Her passion for storytelling as well as her experience in event planning has led her to become involved with Viet Film Fest since 2022. As an Associate Director, she oversees the operations of the festival including sponsorships, finance, and Community Day outreach.
Tran graduates from University of Southern California (USC) as a Business Administration major with an emphasis in Cinematic Arts. During her college years, she was the Director for the USC Vietnamese Student Association’s annual Culture Night, which took place in an auditorium of 300 audience members. She was also the Chair of Programming for the USC International Student Assembly where she has planned many school-wide events, namely the Global Culture Night and GlobeFest.
Camille Wong
Webmaster
Camille Wong (they/she) is a research-based artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Their practice examines power, geopolitics, and historiography through the lens of media and spectacle. Working across video, sculpture, and writing, they explore how systems of power are embedded within cultural memory and social infrastructures. Often site-specific, their practice considers how we inherit our understanding of place and displacement. Their recent work focuses on media and rhetoric from the Cold War, exploring how these narratives shaped global ideologies and immigration patterns. Since receiving their MFA in Media Art at the University of California, Los Angeles, they have worked as a cultural arts professional in nonprofit organizations, supporting artists, curators, and community-focused programming.
Việt Lê’s practice as an artist, researcher and curator focuses on sexualities, spiritualities–the physical and the metaphysical. Their hybrid projects encompass experimental film, ritual performance, pain-tings, power objects/ installations and text towards a healing. Việt is the author of Return Engagements (Duke University Press, 2021, which received the 2023 Outstanding Book Award in Media and Visual Culture from the Association of Asian American Studies), and collaborated with Latipa on the art book White Gaze (Sming Sming Books | Candor Art, 2019). Việt received their M.F.A. from the University of California, Irvine, and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California (Department of American Studies & Ethnicity). Việt has taught at the college level for 24 years (UC Irvine, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Stanford, Irvine Valley College, Vermont College of Fine Arts), and is Professor Emeritus at California College of the Arts, San Francisco (Associate Professor and former Chair, Visual & Critical Studies graduate program). Fellowships include Fulbright-Hays, PEN Center USA, Stanford CCSRE Mellon Arts, among others. Lê has presented their work at Sàn Art Sài Gòn, Shanghai Biennale, Rio Gay Film Festival, National Gallery Singapore, the Smithsonian, Artpace, among other venues.
Việt curated Miss Saigon with the Wind (Highways, Santa Monica, 2005) and Charlie Don’t Surf! (Centre A, Vancouver, BC, 2005); and co-curated humor us (with Leta Ming and Yong Soon Min; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, LA, CA, 2008), transPOP: Korea Việt Nam Remix (with Yong Soon Min; Seoul, Sài Gòn, Irvine, San Francisco, 2008-09), the 2012 Taipei Kuandu Biennale, trânsfiguration (Slash Art SF), Love in the Time of War (UC Santa Barbara and SF Camerawork), and Việt Namdala (cocurated with Vicky Đỗ, Asian Art Museum SF 2027). Việt coorganized the 2015 Artistic Interventions confererence (Ph.D. workshops and symposium) in Hong Kong. Their projects have been featured in Newsweek Asia; The Korea Herald, The Toronto Star, Huffington Post, China Daily, Orange County Register, Bangkok Post, and The Cambodia Daily. Focused on global south indigenous shamanisms and knowledge traditions, Việt’s work seeks to share resources and wisdom among artists, healers, and researchers. Rooted in Southeast Asian cosmologies, Việt continues their training and practice as thầy đồng—a Vietnamese indigenous shaman-monk—through various mediums. _vietle (insta) seasal.org vietle.net (archive site)
Ysa began her art activism with the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) since 2000, serving as the Board President from 2004-2008, and then as Executive Director from 2008 until now. She co-founded Viet Film Fest in 2003.
Prior to VAALA, Ysa was a radio host for the Viet Nam California Radio (VNCR), from 1995 to 2010. She hosted a weekly show called “Vòng Chân Trời Văn Học Nghệ Thuật” (“The Art Horizon”), which covered interviews with various artists and art events. Her show was syndicated for Voice of America (VOA), which broadcasted in Vietnam. In 2005, Ysa was chosen by the Orange County Register as one of the “30 Vietnamese Americans to Watch” in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Vietnamese American community in the United States. She received the Arts and Culture (In-Language) Award from New California Media in 2003 for her article on Mimi News, reporting the revival of the traditional performance art Cải Lương in the Vietnamese community. She was awarded with the “Service Award” from the USC (University of Southern California) Asian Pacific Alumni Association in 2012.
Ysa received her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1994. She currently works as a clinical pharmacist at Providence Home Infusion Pharmacy in Anaheim, California.
Corey Linh is the Communication and Outreach Manager at the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA), where she leads strategic communications, builds community partnerships, and amplifies the visibility of Vietnamese & Vietnamese diasporic arts and culture. She coordinates the promotion of Viet Film Fest, Viet Book Fest, and a wide range of art exhibitions, including Yellow Submarine Rising: Currents in Asian American Arts, an exhibition responding to the #StopAsianHate movement.
Hailing from the Bay Area, Corey is a classically trained actress who has brought Asian American narratives to life on stage, portraying Tuyet in Brackish, a contemporary exploration of a Vietnamese family in Galveston, Texas, and Linda in David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face. She is also creating an analog photography documentary project capturing the Vietnamese creative economy in Little Saigon, documenting her artistic practice alongside her work with VAALA.
Corey graduated with honors in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach, combining her understanding of human behavior with her passion for cultural advocacy and the arts. Outside of her professional and artistic endeavors, she enjoys embroidering, spending too much on crafting hobbies, bragging about her two sisters—a fashion designer and a stage manager—and hanging out with her cat and gecko.
Born and raised in Orange County, CA, Eric Nong is a self-taught classic film buff who, since 2012, maintains a blog dedicated to movie write-ups. In addition to his passion for film, he has served as a volunteer and writer for Viet Film Fest 2018. Eric was also a part of Viet Film Fest 2019’s Curatorial Committee and volunteered during the 3-day event. Eric has a BA in Political Science from UC Irvine (also attended UC Santa Cruz for the first two years of undergrad); MPP from UCI with a focus on education and poverty alleviation. In his spare time, Eric volunteers his time to teach English to Buddhist monks at Chùa Bát Nhã in Santa Ana, CA.
Coming to the United States from Vietnam in 2017, Tran has always been seeking after opportunities that allow her to promote her culture through the lenses of arts. Her passion for storytelling as well as her experience in event planning has led her to become involved with Viet Film Fest since 2022. As an Associate Director, she oversees the operations of the festival including sponsorships, finance, and Community Day outreach.
Tran graduates from University of Southern California (USC) as a Business Administration major with an emphasis in Cinematic Arts. During her college years, she was the Director for the USC Vietnamese Student Association’s annual Culture Night, which took place in an auditorium of 300 audience members. She was also the Chair of Programming for the USC International Student Assembly where she has planned many school-wide events, namely the Global Culture Night and GlobeFest.
Camille Wong (they/she) is a research-based artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Their practice examines power, geopolitics, and historiography through the lens of media and spectacle. Working across video, sculpture, and writing, they explore how systems of power are embedded within cultural memory and social infrastructures. Often site-specific, their practice considers how we inherit our understanding of place and displacement. Their recent work focuses on media and rhetoric from the Cold War, exploring how these narratives shaped global ideologies and immigration patterns. Since receiving their MFA in Media Art at the University of California, Los Angeles, they have worked as a cultural arts professional in nonprofit organizations, supporting artists, curators, and community-focused programming.