the land we carry: a performance art festival presented by Viet Voices
On Saturday, July 26, Viet Voices is hosting its inaugural one-day performance art festival, which features the works of fellows selected for the first AAPI Emerging Artist Fellowship, co-founded by Viet Voices and local artist and curator hamsa fae. the land we carry will take place at El Salon, a repurposed Catholic church in San Ysidro near the U.S.–Mexico border. A meditation on the intersections of diasporic memory, queerness, and spiritual inheritance, artists will express live and non-live performances that offer portals to worlds re-imagined–where the subconscious reveals truth for community activation. hamsa fae, who will also be offering a performance workshop during the festival that engages the audience in creative expression, shared some insight into what we can look forward to this upcoming weekend.
Photo by Dóri Varga
LM: What was the motivation for the festival?
hamsa fae: The idea stemmed from this question: what does it mean to create art and heal through it—perhaps in an indigenous way? I often think of memories like sitting on the marble floor in Vietnam, brushing each other’s hair, peeling shrimp, or crafting together with aunties by the river. We wanted to recreate that kind of container of communal, intergenerational care, but in a modern form of art-making. So we invited artists to express their personal stories that may have been repressed or left unsaid—often shaped by assimilation and migration. We’ll be showcasing performance across a variety of mediums: film, sculpture, ritual, and live theatrical works.
LM: What are you most excited about for the performance festival?
hamsa fae: One of the most exciting parts is the mutual aid market. The artists organized it to raise funds for families affected by ICE raids and for trans Latina communities in Tijuana whose support organizations are losing funding. This is what the future of art looks like to me—not museums or galleries, but DIY spaces that allow us to say what we want.
LM: What can attendees expect to experience when they come to the festival?
hamsa fae: I don’t want to define it for them. I’m inviting them to arrive with intention—bring a word, a prayer, a feeling. Whether that’s care, presence, or stewardship. That changes the way we gather, when we come to give something. The festival is going to offer a lot—performances, a shared meal with 100 people, art for sale to support mutual aid, herbal tea, and space to simply be together—everything to soften the threshold between each of us and allow presence during these overwhelming times. We’re calling it a festival, but it’s essentially a ceremony. Everyone is bringing something to the circle.
LM: How are the performances structured?
hamsa fae: Each artist is showing their own piece, but I’m curating to connect their works into a collective narrative—like threading pearls into a necklace–so the audience understands the shared message.
LM: Can you share why you chose this specific venue?
hamsa fae: Yes—the venue is a black box theater in San Ysidro, converted from the first Catholic church built in that area in the 1920s. I was thinking about themes like surveillance, migration, queerness, and reclaiming spirituality.
Our artists didn’t know the venue beforehand; I selected it after seeing their proposals because it speaks so deeply to what they’re exploring. Some are exploring themes of reclamation within the Catholic church; others are creating altar installations, ghost-like sculptures, and films about past lives.
AAPI Emerging Artist Fellows: C. Ryu, Haven, seh-reum, Long Nguyen
the land we carry
Event Details:
This event is free and open to the public.
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2025
Location: El Salon, 114 W Hall Ave, San Ysidro, CA
Program: Doors 4:30pm, Performances begin at 5:00 PM, Artist Talkback: 6pm, Dinner:
6:30pm, Closing remarks at 7:30PM
Admission: Free with RSVP
About the AAPI Emerging Artist Fellowship:
The AAPI Emerging Artist Fellowship, co-founded by hamsa fae and Huy Tran, originated from a 2023 one-day performance exhibition at the Mingei Museum curated by Junyi Min that illuminated the possibilities for Asian contemporary art. Designed as a four-month program to uplift emerging AAPI artists, the fellowship nurtures new creative voices, including artists presenting work publicly for the first time. With an open-call recruitment process, the fellowship aims to cross-pollinate artistic communities by expanding its upcoming virtual cycle beyond San Diego, fostering connection and creative exchange. Rooted in themes of cultural identity, ancestry, and homeland, the program also embraces evolving explorations of ecology and technology, inviting artists to imagine what it means to live in an “ancient future.” This fellowship serves as a rebirth and continuation of prior efforts by Viet Voices, cultivating a collaborative garden where AAPI artists can grow and thrive.
