Quyen Truong

QTDesign

New York, NY, USA
My birthday coincides with that of revolutionaries Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh. As a Vietnamese-American woman, I honor the responsibility of following their footsteps.

I am an ardent, earnest feminist; a discerning educator who learns from our scarred, wise learners; an indulgent intellectual; a daily activist, and an artist.

The eternal, endless dimensions of painting never cease to fascinate me. Using this medium, I delicately touch, drip, drag, splatter, and spray felicitous hues and pigments across flat surfaces to suggest the turbulent, tumultuous movement roiling in our lives. Engaging the prism of painterly traditions, I refine / redefine my personal history to reflect and learn.

As an immigrant, I find that art transcends language as a means of communication. Visual imagery can invoke questions, inculcate discussions, and thus expand our conception of social, economic and cultural realities.

While the Vietnamese culture roots me, I aim to understand what compels the waves of immigrants in America, my adopted home. Via art, my identity as a Vietnamese American woman flourishes. The visual medium enables me to find like-minded individuals. I share my experiences to encourage cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary dialogues.

Work Experience

Artists For Humanity

Education Director

Founded in 1991, Artists For Humanity’s mission is to bridge economic, racial and social divisions by providing under-resourced youth with the keys to self-sufficiency through paid employment in the arts. At the heart of Artists for Humanity is the belief that skills equal power and opportunity. AFH provides urban teens with a safe meaningful place where they are respected for their contributions; earn opportunities to have a voice through exhibitions; and gain the respect and responsibility of paid employment that promotes self-esteem and financial accountability.
September 2001 - July 2010 Boston, Massachusetts, United States

RiverzEdge Arts Project

Founder & Program Director

RiverzEdge Arts Project (RAP) is a social enterprise that provides talented underserved teens hands-on work experience in graphic design, digital photography, screen-printing and visual arts. Founded in 2002, RAP is a replication program of Artists For Humanity, a nationally-acclaimed youth arts program based in Boston.
October 2001 - May 2005 Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States

Education

Brown University

Visual Arts

Phi Beta Kappa 2004
Magna Cum Laude & Honors 2005
Eva A. Mooar Premium; Yat K. Tow Leadership Service Award
Brown University Starr Fellow & Rhode Island School of Design Andrew Mellon Fellow
September 2001 - May 2005 Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Harvard Graduate School Of Education

Education Policy

Urban Scholar
September 2010 - Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Languages

Vietnamese (Native),
French (Advanced),