About Tracing Kiều
Last updated: [September 10, 2025].
Tracing Kiều is an independent, diaspora-led initiative based in Berlin that brings together creatives of Vietnamese heritage worldwide to reinterpret Nguyễn Du’s 19th-century epic The Tale of Kiều through contemporary art and writing. You can meet our team here.
Our Vision for the Project
Tracing Kiều reactivates the The Tale of Kiều as a living text – one that continues to generate new artistic and cultural conversations. Long regarded as Vietnam’s most important literary work, the poem traverses questions of fate, sacrifice, love, loss, and resilience. The project unfolds in three interconnected stages:
- International anthology (foundation). A curated volume of literary, visual, and hybrid works that engage with The Tale of Kiều – whether through dialogue, juxtaposition, or creative challenge – using methods such as bói Kiều (the folk practice of opening the poem at random for guidance or inspiration). The anthology is our first focus and will form the basis of the exhibition.
- Multidisciplinary exhibition (spatial translation). Selected anthology works will be developed into a multidisciplinary exhibition – initially in Berlin and designed to tour – accompanied by a discursive outreach program of talks, workshops, and performances.
- Digital platform (ongoing access). An online archive that documents the process, extends the project’s reach, and preserves the works as a lasting resource.
By treating The Tale of Kiều as both both heritage and catalyst, Tracing Kiều opens space for inventive responses that connect Vietnamese diasporic voices with broader global conversations on memory, belonging, transformation, and creative inheritance.
Why Kiều?
For over two centuries, The Tale of Kiều has remained Vietnam’s most celebrated literary work, its verses echoing through language, music, and art. With 3,254 lục-bát couplets, it offers a sweeping story of Thúy Kiều, whose sacrifices and endurance have made her an enduring cultural figure.
From the start, the poem provoked debate. In the 19th century it was both admired at court yet censured by Confucian moralists. In later eras it became a touchstone for reformers, revolutionaries, and modernists, each reading it through the lens of their time. Today, it continues to carry divergent associations: for some in the diaspora, Kiều is a distant or imagined heritage; for others in Vietnam, it may feel overly familiar, tied to school lessons or cultural programming. Tracing Kiều takes these tensions as a starting point – reintroducing the text, reviving bói Kiều as a creative method, and sparking fresh dialogues that bring classical heritage into contemporary life.
Like Goethe’s Faust in Germany, Kiều endures as a classic continually reimagined, raising moral, political, and human questions that remain alive across generations. Our project reopens the poem as a living space where diasporic voices and wider audiences can meet to explore identity, justice, displacement, and renewal.
What This Site Offers
- Call, FAQ, and Submissions – everything you need to take part, from deadlines and guidelines to file specs and rights.
- Notes – our project journal and background space, with updates on planning and research.
Contributors can also share short reflections or links to help build community. - Resources – a living list of translations, essays, and creative responses to The Tale of Kiều. Suggestions for additional resources are always welcome.
Get Involved
Creators, collaborators, and organizations interested in the anthology, exhibition, or discourse & outreach program are warmly invited to get in touch via the contact form. Tracing Kiều is an artist-initiated volunteer project; we are applying for funding to provide honoraria and further support for contributors. Let’s carry a timeless story into new contexts together. Contact us here or at mail@tracingkieu.net.