A new museum that aims to preserve and promote the art, culture and history of Vietnamese Minnesotans has opened with exhibits in several Twin Cities sites. 

The Vietnamese Minnesotan Museum is the first of its kind in the Midwest, sharing the history of a people who survived a devastating war in their homeland and settled into new homes in the United States.

Since its founding in March 2025, the museum has operated online and on the move until it can secure its own physical space. It has showcased archival photos, calligraphy, paintings, documentary films, contemporary artwork, traditional clothing and recorded oral histories. 

The project rapidly gained momentum thanks to volunteer efforts and community support. 

Stories of refugees’ journeys, handwritten memories from members of the Vietnamese diaspora, and other cultural and historical displays aim to educate both the Vietnamese diaspora and Minnesota’s wider population and to preserve Vietnamese heritage for future generations, said Martino Nguyen, a Twin Cities entrepreneur who is one of the museum’s six founders.

Nguyen earned a master’s degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he developed his passion for art and culture. He is the former director of external affairs for the nonprofit Vietnamese Community of Minnesota, which advocates for the Vietnamese community statewide.

“As I worked with Minnesota communities, I realized that not many people knew about the Vietnamese people, so we decided that we need an institution that not only preserves our cultural heritage but also educates [all] Minnesotans about our community,” Nguyen said, of his inspiration for founding the museum.

“I have been part of the artistic community, and I felt like my people’s art, culture and history were missing from Minnesota’s multicultural scene,” Nguyen told Sahan Journal.

The organization now operates both online and in pop-up spaces at community venues. Its first exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, held last August, drew 230 people to an opening day movie screening, according to the museum’s website. 

“We are actively searching for a permanent location while also fundraising to establish this project,” Nguyen said.

A second exhibit was held at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center from  Nov. 8-29. That was followed by an exhibit on the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, also known as the Tết Nguyên Đán, which marks the arrival of spring in Vietnam. This year’s Lunar New Year celebration started on Feb. 17 and lasted nine days.

The museum’s exhibits have welcomed more than 5,000 visitors, and the number of volunteers has increased from two to 20, Nguyen said.

With assistance from the Minnesota Historical Society, the founders have created a documentary film commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

“We are very proud of our work,” Nguyen said.

Telling truths about a complicated history

Nguyen said there are “a lot of misconceptions of the Vietnamese people in the United States.” 

Many Americans think the Vietnamese people came here to pursue the American dream of economic prosperity and upward social mobility, as many immigrants have, but that is far from the truth, Nguyen said. 

The Vietnamese people have gone through difficult and oppressive periods, such as French colonialism, which led up to the war between Communist North Vietnam and U.S.-backed South Vietnam, which lasted nearly 20 years and claimed the lives of millions of people.

Many Vietnamese people fled the brutal war and arrived on safer shores by boat. Many were rescued, but an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 people died at sea, according to History.com. 

The war killed an estimated at 3.5 million Vietnamese from both sides, along with more than 58,220 American soldiers, 80,000 Hmong, 20,000 Laotians and 275,000 to 310,000 Cambodians.

Many refugees eventually made it to the United States, leading to what is now a vibrant Vietnamese American community. 

“It’s time to bridge the gap between what the mainstream community thinks and what is actually true by writing our own stories and history,” Nguyen said. 

The museum is currently self-funded by the founders and contributions from the community. 

Nguyen said the project needs at least $200,000 before it can acquire its own physical space and permanent employees. Preparation of the space would be crucial, because special lighting and controlled temperatures are needed to protect paintings and artifacts.

“During wartime and the urgency of fleeing, many refugees did not bring many physical records with them, but we were fortunate to have collected over 200 artifacts,” Nguyen said. “Since the start of the project, some people have passed down any historical items they had left.”

“However, the most important history is oral stories that our elders carry,” he said. These personal experiences of war, migration, resilience and rebuilding a life in a new country will be lost if they are not documented and shared with future generations.”

Keeping the cultural flame alive

Tri T. Tang, president of the Vietnamese Community of Minnesota, said the museum is especially important for younger U.S.-born Vietnamese, who often lack knowledge about their history. 

“Our elders took the most dangerous journey on boats, even though many of them knew they wouldn’t make it alive, but they sacrificed their lives so we can have freedom and a better life in the U.S. today,” Tang said.

Minnesota’s Vietnamese community has made significant efforts to promote cultural learning, offering Vietnamese language classes at temples and churches and hosting Lunar New Year celebrations, he said.

The museum will have a presence at the International Festival of Minnesota at St. Paul’s RiverCentre April 10-11 and the annual Asia Fair event in Plymouth on May 30. 

A longer exhibit, “Weaving Cultures: The Vietnamese Story in Minnesota,” will run from June 6 to July 31 at the Minneapolis Central Library.

Some of the stories shared with young people include those of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when South Vietnam was captured by North Vietnam. This marked the end of the Vietnam War and also triggered one of the longest refugee crises in history, Tang said.

Oanh Pham, a community leader for three decades and one of the museum’s founders, said first-generation Vietnamese Americans didn’t see the need to establish a cultural institution when they first arrived in Minnesota.

However, as younger generations arrived, the community realized it needed a place that would preserve the stories of the aging first-generation population and give younger generations access to their cultural heritage, Pham said. 

“Vietnam is a 5,000-year-old civilization, and we want to make sure the cultural flame doesn’t die,” Pham said.

Ange Hwang, director of community development at Asian Media Access, said the museum helps put oral stories into perspective for young people and non-Asian American communities.

Photographs and other historical records communicate the past better than words alone,  deepening understanding, she said. 

Such exhibits and the education they provide can tamp down misconceptions that some in the mainstream community have about immigrants, such as that they are taking resources away from other Americans, Hwang said.

“Immigrants in America contribute to the greatness and the resources of this country, and we believe story-sharing and cultural awareness will help clear these misconceptions,” she said.

Kimmy Tanaka, the director of community engagement at the Minnesota Historical Society, highlighted the importance of community-led storytelling and its partnership with the Vietnamese community during a special event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

Despite the small team and limited funding, the organizers and the Vietnamese community showed a strong commitment to the project, and the Minnesota Historical Society was honored to collaborate with them as they showcased their exhibit, she said. 

“2025 marked 50 years since the devastating Vietnam War, and we are very fortunate to capture its history 50 years later,” Nguyen said.

Correction: The time period of Martino Nguyen’s tenure as director of external affairs for the the Vietnamese Community of Minnesota has been updated in this story.

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