Executive Summary


Mission Statement
The mission of USVAP (formerly ArtSynergy) is to provide opportunities for artists from Vietnam and the United States to work collaboratively on artistic projects; to offer encouragement and support for the collaborative process particularly across cultural boundaries; and to bring together new and existing audiences to discover or rediscover the cultural and artistic traditions of both countries.

Description
USVAP will develop opportunities for artists from Vietnam and the United States in a variety of disciplines to collaborate on creating, performing or exhibiting works to audiences. In addition, a primary goal of the program will be to educate audiences in both countries of the rich cultural traditions and experiences before, during and since the war.

Summary
In 1972 the war between the United States and Vietnam ended, and the two countries have been trying to pick up the pieces ever since. But, before we can mend the deep wounds of war- before the new generations can understand what happened then and what happens next-- both countries must continue to work together to establish a sense of international community. Artists can play a valuable role in this process by providing a variety of expressive forms to enhance our dialogue and enrich our experiences.

With this vision, USVAP will encourage and provide opportunities for meaningful collaborations between artists from Vietnam and the United States. Conceived by composer and Vietnam veteran, Kimo Williams, USVAP will go beyond the "in-and-out" syndrome of most cultural exchanges and provide a new collaborative experience between two countries that once were at war with each other.

USVAP, will involve multi-disciplined collaborative presentations of work by artists from the U.S. and Vietnam. These presentations include traditional concerts by performing artists, thematic dual commission exhibitions, master classes and symposia on cross-cultural issues.

Examples of early USVAP projects:
Several performances with Vietnamese and American Artist in the U.S. and Vietnam.
A program at the Getz Theater of Columbia College, in April 2001. This presentation included performances by a variety of American composers composing works in response to the Vietnam War.
Education series with Vietnamese composer, Dr. Nguyen Van Nam.  Dr. Nam visited Chicago schools speaking on traditional Vietnamese music.
In fall of 2001 Kimo was invited to Vietnam for the premiere of his Symphony For The Sons of Nam at the Ho Chi Minh Conservatory of Music, supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council.
In the summer 2008 Kimo premiered “A Story From Hue” with his 26-member ensemble Kimotion. They traveled to Hue Vietnam to perform during the International Hue festival. Kimo's 26 member ensemble was augmented by 10 Vietnamese instrumentalist to include traditional Vietnames instruments.

Our current project is summarized as follows: USVAP seeks to further cross-cultural understanding between the United States and Vietnam through sponsorship and presentations of collaborative artistic programs.  Toward that end we propose a Summer 2010 American Rock Fusion music concert at the 2010 Hue Festival “ The Kimo Williams Band featuring original music and the music of Jimi Hendrix”. The subtext: “Jimi Hendrix, Vietnam and the War I Remember” This concert will include Jazz improvisation workshops and master classes, as well as music technology consultation with the Hue Conservatory of music. The Jazz Workshop and Music Technology project is in partnership with the Fulbright Foundation (Kimo is a Fulbright Specialist) and the Illinois Arts Council.