You are invited to join American Composers Forum (ACF) and East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) on Thursday, June 1 at 6:30 pm CT for the culminating event of our “Immigration, Identity, and the Arts” series. Taking place at the Community Hall in the newly-renovated Springboard for the Arts complex in Saint Paul, the event is part of the NEA Big Read series focused on Thi Bui’s graphic memoir “The Best We Could Do” about her family’s journey as Vietnamese refugees later settling in the US.

Bui is also the illustrator of “A Different Pond,” a children’s book written by Bao Phi about growing up in Minnesota as a Vietnamese American refugee family. Bao Phi and Thi Bui will be our featured guests for this event (Bui participating virtually). They will be joined by Chinese pipa player and composer Gao Hong and Hmong composer Kevin Phoojywg Xiong, who will share their own musical responses. Gao Hong is a current ACF board member and Kevin is a recent recipient of ACF’s 2021 Minnesota Music Creator Award.

Both “The Best We Could Do” and “A Different Pond” will be available onsite. Please send advance requests to Xavier Muzik and xmuzik@composersforum.org.

Please join us for this unique opportunity to engage in stories of immigration through music and conversation with your own Minnesota community.

About NEA Big Read

The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. American Composers Forum is one of 60+ nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host an NEA Big Read project.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.