Uncovering Vietnamese Archives: Library of Ancestral Knowledge

In a creative workshop, Duong Thuy Nguyen led participants to explore the intimate relationship between scent, memory, and ancestral presence – especially within diasporic experience. Rooted in the Vietnamese tradition of Trầm Hương – a sacred incense made from agarwood – this gathering invites participants to reflect on how scent can become an archive: of memories, of absence, of return. 

In a hands-on workshop, landscape architect and gardener Yoni Carnice guided participants to explore how gardening can connect us to ancestral knowledge and cultural memory across Vietnamese and ESEA communities. Through mixed-media collage and practical gardening activities, we experienced how nurturing the land helps preserve and honour shared histories and traditions. 

Using archival imagery, heritage food crops, and recycled materials, participants shared personal memories of landscapes, gardens, and home. We also learnt practical techniques for growing Southeast Asian herbs and vegetables in London, exploring creative ways to adapt traditional growing practices to new environments.

Mai Anh Le invited workshop participants to look at the way the spirit of DIY exists and influences our homes and spaces. What tools do we use that turn new and foreign places into a home? Do these items hold memory as well as purpose? Participants were invited to bring any tools, materials or utensils they rely on for DIY. The memories behind these objects were shared and preserved by imprinting their textures and surfaces onto clay, creating a collective map of tactile textures.