By Lorcan Stokes, The Seattle Medium
When Tina Nguyen learned that her artwork had been chosen to go on public display in Little Saigon, a small enclave located in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, it was an emotional experience for her.
Nguyen grew up in the neighborhood, where her mother continues to operate a store selling hair and beauty products.
“ I remember just standing behind the window and I almost burst into tears,” Nguyen said to a crowd of onlookers at her exhibit on May 20. “It was surreal that I would be able to portray all the art I had made throughout the years right across the street from where I used to run around, not even speaking English yet.”
Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States when she was nine years old, showcased her artwork alongside Deycha Nhtae on May 20 in collaboration with Seattle Restored, a program focused on providing artists and entrepreneurs empty storefronts to both display and sell their work. It was each artist’s first exhibition.
The 5 p.m. event started at the Daily Ritual Market, another Seattle Restored pop-up that specializes in health and wellness. Guests mingled, had complimentary food and drinks, and navigated through the store’s many products– candles, jewelry, plants, and more. Around 6:15 p.m., guests walked across the street to examine both Nguyen and Nhtae’s art.
Nguyen’s exhibit, which is titled “Serendipity: Adolescent Moments of Creation,” is a collection derived from her Seattle Preparatory high school AP studio art portfolio. The multimedia project is made up of photography, digital media, a painting, pottery and highlights themes of cultures and childhood.
Nguyen, who is about to graduate from the University of Washington with degrees in informatics and international studies, applied to Seattle Restored during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To be honest, when I found out I was going to be a Seattle Restored participant, I was really shocked,” Nguyen said at her exhibition. “I submitted my application during the pandemic and didn’t remember it till I got an email in February that I would be displayed here. I feel like it was just meant to be.”
Nguyen says her experience with Seattle Restored and getting her display has inspired her to focus more on the art and her creative side. She also talked about what being from Little Saigon meant to her.
“There’s so much heritage, culture, history,” Nguyen said after her presentation. “ We shouldn’t overlook it because it’s sort of disappearing.”
Nguyen is sharing the window display with Nhtae, an artist from Washington D.C. who has been living in Seattle for the last decade and whose exhibit is titled, “Reminder: Don’t forget to Lotion the back roll!”
“I exist in a large black queer differently abled body and I wanted to make art that felt like it paid homage to my journey of coming into adulthood,” Nhtae said to attendees of the exhibition. Nhtae teaches art at the Pratt Fine Arts Center and also partners with Gay City, an LGTBQ community center within Seattle, as an art teacher.
“Part of my commitment to myself with embarking on this journey of public art displays was to spend time thinking about the ways I can hold myself better and do what it is that I’m trying to teach other people,” Nhtae said.
Nhtae’s art uses a combination of acrylic and gouache painting as well as digital media to showcase a variety of colorful canvases. According to her biography on Seattle Restored, her display focuses on “ big Black bodies” and is meant to “uplift our divine existence as natural & worthy!”
“I hope that people who can take from my work are able to courageously accept themselves even when they’re not fully at the destination they want to be at or when they feel like amateurs or posers or don’t know what they’re doing,” Nhtae said in front of her display to the crowd at the event.
Nguyen and Nhtae’s exhibits will be on display till June 30 at 209 12th Ave S by the Mason and Main apartment complex. To see more of their work, go to their Instagram: @Tinanguyenart and @nhtae.art.
