Introducing mãi mãi, A Love Letter to Vietnamese Creativity

From Vietnam to the world and back

Global Vietnamese artistry takes center stage in mãi mãi, which celebrates the diversity of Vietnamese creativity from across the diaspora and the motherland.

Launched in New York, mãi mãi’s debut coincides with the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Themed “Tomorrow,” it aims to shift the focus of Vietnamese discourse from past to future. In this spirit, mãi mãi translates to ‘forever’ or ‘timeless.’

mãi mãi showcases young Vietnamese writers, photographers, designers, and artists from across Vietnam, the United States, Europe, and Australia. It is self-funded and independently published by Vietnamese Gen Z and millennial creatives representing three Vietnamese-founded studios: Vietnamese-American publishing collective Superblooom* (New York), Dutch-Vietnamese multimedia group Saigon Kiss (Amsterdam), and PR/production agency District One Studios (New York/Saigon).

“We wanted to reclaim Vietnamese identity from a purely Western lens of trauma and loss,” says Dan Q. Dao, culture writer and editorial director of mãi mãi. “This project is about our joy, connection, and futurism. We’re not forgetting what the previous generation went through—we’re honoring their sacrifice by imagining new paths forward.”

Through intimate photo diaries, archival interviews, artist profiles, poetry, food recipes and architectural surveys, mãi mãi presents a collective, borderless vision of Vietnamese culture, identity, and imagination. Beyond storytelling, it aims to foster community between homegrown Vietnamese creatives and those from the diaspora.

“We’re not just making a publication. We’re building a soft bridge between worlds — shaped by memory, emotion, and the stories that move us, adds Yến-Nhi Lê, founder of Saigon Kiss Collective and creative director of mãi mãi.

With visuals overseen by Paris-based art director Jessica Diêm-My Pichet and production by New York-based creative Colin Việt-An Nguyễn, mãi mãi features:

Articles on two Vietnamese-founded fashion brands: London-based LỰU ĐẠN and Saigon-based FANCì Club
An interview with pop star thủy, the first Vietnamese-American artist to perform at Coachella
A photo diary by Vietnamese-Australian Jess Tran, documenting a return to her childhood home in Saigon
An essay by Celina Huynh, the DJ, self-proclaimed “nepo baby,” and daughter of the founder of the iconic Vietnamese-American variety show, Paris by Night
An interview with the founder of Gallery Medium, a rising art and design space in Saigon
A photo-essay on Vietnam’s brise-soleil architecture, reframing modernist aesthetics through a local lens
A profile of Lưu Chữ, the pioneering type foundry centering Vietnamese language and diacritical marks in typography
An interview with filmmaker Khoa Hà on her debut documentary Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon, her tribute to her grandfather’s legacy in Vietnamese music
A perfect Vietnamese dinner menu with recipes from Saigon-based chef Bao La, NYC food stylist and An Co founder Thu Buser Pham, and more