ÁCCENTED #29 | LIVE @ Salesforce | Forging a Path – Despite Generational Expectations
WELCOME
DVAN is thrilled to present, for the first time, a LIVE AND IN-PERSON episode of ÁCCENTED: Dialogues in Diaspora. This special event is inside the Salesforce Tower and is co-sponsored by Salesforce’s Employee Resource Groups (ERG): Asiapacforce and Parents + Families.
This season, ÁCCENTED #29 | Forging a Path – Despite Generational Expectations features guest host Susan Lieu and distinguished guests Thi Bui (graphic novelist) and Wendy Lieu (chocolatier and owner of Socola). Guests will discuss the journey towards non-traditional careers, competing family expectations, and the struggles and triumphs of “forging a path” on their own. Event also features DJ Puzzle and a raffle giveaway of signed author books, chocolates, and more by the host and guests.
DETAILS
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
Doors 1:30 pm | Show 2:00 pm
Event is FREE – Registration closes Tuesday, August 1st at noon
Salesforce Tower | 415 Mission St., San Francisco
https://dvan-accented-29-salesforce.eventbrite.com
All ticket holders will receive special entry instructions 24-48 hours prior to the show. Space is limited and is first come first serve. One ticket per person, per email. All guests will need to clear Salesforce security.
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ABOUT THE HOST:
SUSAN LIEU is a Vietnamese-American playwright, performer, and author who tells stories that refuse to be forgotten. With a vision for individual and community healing, her work delves deeply into the lived realities of body insecurity, grieving, and intergenerational trauma with humor. Lieu is a self-taught artist and daughter of Vietnamese refugee nail salon workers. She took her autobiographical solo theatre show, 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother on a 10-city national tour with sold out premieres and accolades from L.A. Times, NPR, and American Theatre. Eight months pregnant, she premiered her sequel OVER 140 LBS as the headliner for ACT Theatre’s SoloFest. Within one year she held 60 performances to over 7,000 people. Her work has been featured at Bumbershoot, Wing Luke Museum, The Moth Mainstage, On The Boards, CAATA ConFest, Viet Film Fest, and twelve universities. Her debut memoir, The Manicurist’s Daughter, will be published in March 2024 from Celadon Books (Macmillan). She serves as an Artists Up mentor, Artist Trust instructor, Model Minority Moms podcaster, Consumer Watchdog patient advocate, and board member for international NGO Asylum Access. Lieu is a proud alumnus of Harvard, Yale, Hedgebrook, and Vashon Artist Residency. Learn more at www.susanlieu.me
ABOUT THE GUESTS:
THI BUI was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1978 as part of the “boat people” wave of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia at the end of the Vietnam War. Her debut graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do (Abrams ComicArts, 2017) has been selected for an American Book Award, a Common Book for UCLA and other colleges and universities, an all-city read by Seattle and San Francisco public libraries, a National Book Critics Circle finalist in autobiography, and an Eisner Award finalist in reality-based comics. It made over thirty best of 2017 book lists, including Bill Gates’ top five picks. She illustrated the picture book, A Different Pond, written by the poet Bao Phi (Capstone, 2017), for which she won a Caldecott Honor. With her son, Hien, she co-illustrated the children’s book, Chicken of the Sea (McSweeney’s, 2019), written by Pulitzer winner Viet Thanh Nguyen and his son, Ellison. Her short comics can be found online at The Nib, PEN America, and BOOM California. She is currently researching and drawing a work of graphic nonfiction about immigrant detention and deportation, to be published by One World, Random House. Learn more at: www.thibui.com.
WENDY LIEU is the CEO and Chief Chocolatier of Socola Chocolatier, an award-winning chocolate company in San Francisco. Born in a Malaysian refugee camp, Wendy embodies the grit and optimism of the American Dream. A self-taught chocolatier, Wendy has been working with chocolate for over 20 years. At 19 years old, she and her sister launched Socola at a farmer’s market in Santa Rosa, California. After graduating college, Wendy became a management consultant but never forgot her love of sweets. After 8 years in the corporate world, she stopped moonlighting and finally took the plunge.
Sôcôla, which means “chocolate” in Vietnamese, creates inventive flavors reflective of the diverse flavors of Vietnam, including their iconic Little Saigon Box. Socola’s clients include Ferrari, Cartier, Sephora, YouTube and American Express. Socola has been featured in Forbes, Zagat, HuffPost, NBC Asian America, The San Francisco Chronicle, KTVU, KPIX, KGO, KPFA, and ABC7 Localish.
Lieu is the recipient of the NAWBO Aspire Award, PAAWBAC Monarch Leadership Award, Renaissance Entrepreneur of the Year, and CAAM Rising Star. She is a UC Davis, Tante Marie Pastry School, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center alum, and former East Cut Community Benefit District Board Member.
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For more info on the host, guests, and sponsors:
Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) – Website | Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) – Instagram | Diasporic Vietnamese Artist Network (DVAN) – Facebook | Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) – Twitter
Salesforce ERG – Website | Asiapacforce – Instagram
Susan Lieu – Website | Susan Lieu – Instagram | Susan Lieu – Facebook
Thi Bui – Website | Thi Bui – Instagram | Thi Bui – Facebook
Wendy Lieu / Socola – Website | Wendy Lieu / Socola – Instagram | Wendy Lieu / Socola – Facebook
DJ Puzzle – Website | DJ Puzzle – Instagram | DJ Puzzle – Facebook
AppLovin – Website | AppLovin – Instagram
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Please note, by registering for DVAN’s ACCENTED LIVE @ Salesforce event via Eventbrite – DVAN may contact you with information about future events, programs, and donor/sponsor opportunities.