Today we got to sit down with Veronica Pham to learn a little bit more about her and her art! Veronica is an artist and educator who we’ve had the privilege of hosting here at Generator as our most recent Artist-In-Residence. Veronica used her residency to further explore traditional and contemporary Vietnamese papermaking techniques in order to preserve the centuries old craft from disappearing in an industrialized society. During the last week of Veronica’s residency, we had the opportunity to hear more about where her passion for paper making comes from and how others can learn more about the craft. Let’s turn things over to Veronica!
Name: Veronica Pham
Current Location: Burlington, VT
Hometown/Birthplace: Bridgeport, Chicago
Website: veronicapham.com
Instagram: @veronicaypham
Tell us a little bit about yourself… your background, education, etc.
I was born in Bridgeport, Chicago and grew up only really knowing this Chinatown neighborhood. I’m a child of immigrant and refugee parents from China and Vietnam. Because of this, I found my little world of belonging in art, which helped me understand my place in the world.
My mom used to joke around and say that she forgot I was home when I was little because I would spend hours quietly drawing at my desk. I give my mother a lot of credit for always encouraging me to pursue art. I completed my BFA in Painting and Sculpture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and took a lot of time off before pursing my MFA at the University of Wisconsin Madison in Design Studies- Textile, Paper making, Material Culture.
By the time I started graduate school, I was asking a lot of questions about materiality- what relationship do I have with the materials I am using in my own work? I like to say that papermaking found me through this question. I completed my MFA in 2024 and right after that moved to Vermont to teach art and design in the Community Development and Applied Economics department at the University of Vermont.
How did you find yourself creating paper- was this something you learnt growing up or was an art you discovered while in school?
When I was painting and making sculptures [in undergrad], I was mainly using a lot of toxic, unknown materials. This created a disconnect with my practice- I didn’t feel like I was making a connection with the materials I was using, where it came from, or why I was even making it. I questioned all the sculptures I was making going into waste streams and it felt wrong in my work. Papermaking found me through those questions. I got plugged into a papermaking research lab, Fresh Press Paper, and I fell in love with the process of using the abundant agricultural waste found in the Midwest as a medium to make work. This gave me a sense of place and meaning in my work!
In graduate school, as I was making connections to land, materiality, and ecology, I started to ask more questions about the historical relevance of papermaking traditions across East and Southeast Asia to relate back to how my roots are tied to this specific craft. What I discovered was that traditional Vietnamese papermaking is the fabric of Vietnamese culture, used for spiritual events, food wrapping, art, and daily life. However in the past century, the craft is at risk of disappearing because of the history of colonization, war, and rapid industrialization. I found this information relatable- growing up I felt a disconnect with being Vietnamese. I saw the erasure of Vietnamese identity from my own father as a refugee assimilating to both American and Chinese culture. Stories get lost in these complex situations and only perpetuate as time passes, until you slow down and listen.
Vietnamese papermaking taught me to slow down and reconnect with my own identity. I’ve found relationships between papermaking and speaking about my own identity in other ways that I could not before- the nature of how I was slowly forgetting my family’s cultural traditions the same way history was forgetting traditional Vietnamese papermaking techniques. I see the purpose of making objects in my practice inextricably connected with the knowledge inherently passed down through my hands.
How did you hear about Generator’s Artist-In-Residence program?
My colleague, Steve Kostell, who also works in CDAE at UVM forwarded me the Artist in Residence program information. We also both work in handmade paper so we bounce a lot of ideas together! I’m so thankful he forwarded me this opportunity right when I moved to VT.
Was there anything unique about this program that made it feel worth pursuing?
The incredible facilities, especially the woodshop. I loved the idea of working in a community with other artist and sharing facilities. The Generator program really gives a chance for artists to explore different mediums or continue building off of a medium that you may have wanted to work in more. That was wood for me!
As a Generator Artist-In-Residence, what has your experience been like?
Working amongst a community of artists at Generator has been so fulfilling. When you move 1,000 miles from where your previous home was, it can be so daunting. Generator made home in VT feel much easier. Since being here, I have felt really focused. It also helps that I am working in a space with other incredibly talented artists.
How have you grown as an artist during your residency? Are there things about the community, or the tools available, that allowed you to grow in ways that might not have been possible otherwise?
I have spent almost all my time in the woodshop and have never completed wood projects this quickly. the woodshop at Generator is like a big sun hug. The natural lighting and garage doors really invite you into the space. Spending so much time in the sunny woodshop helped with those cold Vermont days.
Usually it takes me such a long time to complete woodworking projects, but with the 24-hour access at Generator, and all the right machinery, I was able to complete all the projects I started on. I’ve learned to be more focused in my projects and overall have become a much better person that can play/manipulate with wood kind of well!
Do you have any advice for the incoming Artist-In-Residence?
If your curiosity drives you, experiment with the medium that you have never really felt comfortable in. It will surprise you when the material starts teaching you. Also, try your best to connect with the other artists at Generator and collaborate. I was able to work with artist Eric Roy, prototyping for a project using the 3D printers and that has been such an unexpectedly fun collaboration. Connecting with other artists in their area of expertise is what makes Generator unique!
What’s your next goal for your art? Do you hope to accomplish anything particular?
I want to continue advancing Vietnamese papermaking techniques, its craft related histories, and work to connect craft futures to time, land, and the inherent knowledge stored in our bodies. I’m also in the midst of working on a collaborative artist book project with the papermaking communities in Northern Vietnam. This will probably become a decades long project. Being new to Vermont, I hope to also connect with more textile/fiber artists, papermakers, and book artist within the Northeast.
Veronica will be hosting a commemorative workshop at Generator, what is the workshops focusing and why is this time of year so relevant?
April marks 50 years since the Fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War. Many places around the U.S. and all over the world are hosting commemoration events related to this moment in history. I will be giving an artist talk and hosting a Vietnamese papermaking commemoration workshop on Saturday, April 26th from 1:00-4:00pm. Participants will be able to make their own sheet of paper using traditional equipment I constructed during my residency at Generator. They will also experiment with embedding their stories within the paper pulp through a watermarking process. This workshop will be free and open to the public, so I hope that you’ll join!
I feel immense gratitude that I am able to share this craft to the community here in Vermont. This is an extension of the generosity from my own friends, teachers, mentors, Zó Project, in Vietnam who continue to teach and collaborate with me. For many people, it will be their very first time making paper or knowing about Vietnamese papermaking/ This is exactly why I teach workshops! I love introducing new people to work in handmade paper. Much like my own experience, it is both exciting and challenging. Vietnamese papermaking is also a way to commemorate the unique stories of individuals. For me, this papermaking workshop is special- it is a dedication to my father and his journey from Saigon 50 years ago.
Big thank you to Veronica for sharing the story of her art! For any questions regarding Veronica’s upcoming workshop, please contact [email protected]. To learn more about Generator’s Artist in Residence program, check out our website!
