Nàng Tự Do – 園泉越營藝穗檔案及越南船民在香港的痕跡 Nàng Tự Do – The archive of Art In the Camps (Garden Streams) and the traces of Vietnamese boatpeople in Hong Kong
由香港中文大學（中大）藝術系、中大圖書館聯同香港基督徒藝術家團契「園泉」合辦的展覽「Nàng Tự Do - 園泉越營藝穗檔案及越南船民在香港的痕跡 」由2020年10月21日至2021年4月16日期間於中大圖書館舉行。是次展覽以越南船民於1980至1990年代香港的羈留營的生活和藝術創作為主題，通過回顧這段歷史來探討「難民」與今天社會的關係。
「Nàng Tự Do」為越南語，意解「自由小姐」，出自於船民在羈留營中自行出版的越南語雜誌《Tự Do》（自由雜誌），因以全越南語撰寫而未被大眾所知。自1980年代，香港社會漸漸對越南難民生厭，由「難民」改以「船民」稱呼他們，暗示他們貧窮、缺乏教育。難民的定義廣泛，除戰爭外，天災、經濟也可能是成為難民的原因。展覽命名「自由小姐」是希望透過幽默的擬人法，表達出這群逃離家園的人也有其追求的自由價值。展覽打破將越南船民視為香港局外人的視角，透過當代藝術創作，展示他們在港生活的歷史 。
是次展覽以「越營藝穗」計劃的檔案庫為主軸，展出當中近50幅畫作，以及多項珍貴文獻資料，包括數十幅於越南船民羈留營中拍攝而從未曝光的照片，以及相關文件和剪報等。另邀請本地和海外藝術家透過創作回應這段歷史，包括訪問當年在羈留營成長的越南人、首次將越南船民在羈留營中出版的雜誌內容翻譯成中英文、記錄越南船民乘坐破船抵港的珍貴照片等。
Co-organized by the Department of Fine Arts, Garden Streams and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library, the exhibition Nàng Tự Do features the life of Vietnamese boat people in the detention camps in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s. The exhibition aims to discuss the relationship between “refugees” and contemporary society by reviewing this unique piece of almost forgotten history.
“Nàng Tự Do” means “Miss Freedom” in English. The title of the exhibition is drawn from Tự Do (Freedom Magazine), a magazine that was published by the boat people in the camps for their community at that time. As the magazine is written in Vietnamese, it has never been heard of by people outside the camps. From the 1980s, Hong Kong society became gradually more annoyed by the refugee waves, renaming the Vietnamese as “boat people” instead of “refugees”, suggesting that they were poor and lacking education. In fact, the definition of refugees is wide. As well as wars, natural disasters and economics may also be reasons for people to become refugees. This exhibition displays the archive of Art In the Camps (Garden Streams) from a contemporary point of view, instead of presenting the works as stereotypical views of the Vietnamese boat people’s identity, and reveals the life they led in Hong Kong.
The exhibition includes nearly 50 paintings from the archive of Art in the Camps, as well as a dozen photographs, taken in the detention camps, which have never been displayed before, along with specific newspaper clippings and other documents related to this piece of history. Contemporary artists from Hong Kong and overseas have been invited to react to this archive through their art works, including an interview with a Vietnamese man who grew up in the detention camp, some items from a magazine published by Vietnamese boat people in detention camps translated for the first time into English and Chinese, and a Polaroid image recording the very moment a batch of Vietnamese refugees landed in Hong Kong for the first time.
「Nàng Tự Do」為越南語，意解「自由小姐」，出自於船民在羈留營中自行出版的越南語雜誌《Tự Do》（自由雜誌），因以全越南語撰寫而未被大眾所知。自1980年代，香港社會漸漸對越南難民生厭，由「難民」改以「船民」稱呼他們，暗示他們貧窮、缺乏教育。難民的定義廣泛，除戰爭外，天災、經濟也可能是成為難民的原因。展覽命名「自由小姐」是希望透過幽默的擬人法，表達出這群逃離家園的人也有其追求的自由價值。展覽打破將越南船民視為香港局外人的視角，透過當代藝術創作，展示他們在港生活的歷史 。
是次展覽以「越營藝穗」計劃的檔案庫為主軸，展出當中近50幅畫作，以及多項珍貴文獻資料，包括數十幅於越南船民羈留營中拍攝而從未曝光的照片，以及相關文件和剪報等。另邀請本地和海外藝術家透過創作回應這段歷史，包括訪問當年在羈留營成長的越南人、首次將越南船民在羈留營中出版的雜誌內容翻譯成中英文、記錄越南船民乘坐破船抵港的珍貴照片等。
Co-organized by the Department of Fine Arts, Garden Streams and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library, the exhibition Nàng Tự Do features the life of Vietnamese boat people in the detention camps in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s. The exhibition aims to discuss the relationship between “refugees” and contemporary society by reviewing this unique piece of almost forgotten history.
“Nàng Tự Do” means “Miss Freedom” in English. The title of the exhibition is drawn from Tự Do (Freedom Magazine), a magazine that was published by the boat people in the camps for their community at that time. As the magazine is written in Vietnamese, it has never been heard of by people outside the camps. From the 1980s, Hong Kong society became gradually more annoyed by the refugee waves, renaming the Vietnamese as “boat people” instead of “refugees”, suggesting that they were poor and lacking education. In fact, the definition of refugees is wide. As well as wars, natural disasters and economics may also be reasons for people to become refugees. This exhibition displays the archive of Art In the Camps (Garden Streams) from a contemporary point of view, instead of presenting the works as stereotypical views of the Vietnamese boat people’s identity, and reveals the life they led in Hong Kong.
The exhibition includes nearly 50 paintings from the archive of Art in the Camps, as well as a dozen photographs, taken in the detention camps, which have never been displayed before, along with specific newspaper clippings and other documents related to this piece of history. Contemporary artists from Hong Kong and overseas have been invited to react to this archive through their art works, including an interview with a Vietnamese man who grew up in the detention camp, some items from a magazine published by Vietnamese boat people in detention camps translated for the first time into English and Chinese, and a Polaroid image recording the very moment a batch of Vietnamese refugees landed in Hong Kong for the first time.
