My proposal for the CoMuse fellowship aims to explore the possibilities of bringing intangible heritage, specifically folk songs, out of archives and into dialogue with today’s Vietnamese diaspora community in Berlin. I’m interested in the following research questions: How do different generations of Vietnamese-Germans relate to and interpret their folk heritage? What role can digital technologies play in making sound archives more accessible and collaborative? How can community voices be integrated into institutional sound collections? Through participatory approaches, combining digital platforms and physical workshops, the project seeks to create meaningful connections between historical sound collections and contemporary community voices. – Nhi Duong
Duong Doan Tuyet Nhi (Nhi Duong) works as an assistant at Nguyen Art Foundation, one of Vietnam’s largest contemporary art collections, contributing to education and curation. She is a co-founder of The Airy Space, an experimental living room for Hanoi culture communities, and writes for Saigoneer, an emerging cultural news site in Vietnam. Her practice combines ethnography with unconventional approaches, such as art tours or field trips that position participants as co-creators rather than observers. Her activities foster inclusive models of heritage engagement that acknowledge living traditions as continuously evolving within contemporary contexts. She seeks to transform intangible heritage into participatory experiences that explore “museums without walls” while emphasising community co-creation.