WHERE ART đâu? AN EXPLORATION OF VIETNAMESE PLACES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The Vietnamese community in Singapore is one that has been around since the 90s, yet apart from studies on marriage migrants, the community has yet to gain the attention of academics. Most studies on Vietnamese communities in general focus on the refugee identity of the diaspora and issues related to Little Saigon in Orange County, California. This thesis delves deeper into what it means to a Vietnamese living in Singapore through studying attachments formed between members of the community and the places that exist in Singapore for them. Treating place as a dynamic concept, it will look beyond place as a single physical entity, focusing also on networks of places and importantly, non-physical places found online. It will also explore four main places: Joo Chiat Road, official places created by formal institutions, homes and social media with a focus on Facebook. This thesis argues that a myriad of places already exists for the Vietnamese in Singapore in many forms that reflect the diversity that exists within the community, which challenges essentialist notions of what it means to be Vietnamese, and what a place is.