Sugar Street  Du’o’ng Du’o’ng

Korean Students Practice Music Design by 17 Year-old Student

Migrant Media Arts is currently active An open play space for all kinds of
in youth outreach and collaboration, young people to mingle and influence
enlisting high school and university one another, Sugar Street will coexist
students in its various projects. But an in physical, virtual (online) and social
additional plan is in the works for space to best fulfill its’ objectives.
Sugar Street, a project space that will Participants will work with and be
enable young people creatively via influenced by
collaboration processes and media established art-
empowerment. ists from Vietnam
and elsewhere.
MMA’s objective is to transform an in-
dustrial space into an open public fo- In conjunction
rum for Vietnamese and international with their pro-
youth living in Vietnam, so that they jects, participants
may interact and experiment together will address the
with media, plastic and performance digital divide by gaining a voice on
arts. the web and learning about online
community building.

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Sugar Street  Du’o’ng Du’o’ng

The Space
Sugar Street will be an open and
modular environment that will be
adjusted to accommodate the
constantly changing needs of its
participants and their projects.

A space such as this one, with large movable surfaces

At its core, a café will be centered

among a screening, performance,
and exhibition space.

Modular walls used to create

and display graphic arts and
murals will surround an open
space that will double as café
seating and practice/demo space
for dance, music and performance.
MMA Co-Founder Justin Makes Graffiti Art With New York City At-Risk Youth

In an organic model of creating and exhibiting

visual arts, the modular walls will allow artists to
explore mural making and graffiti art on a
sanctioned, evolving surface while the progression
of the work is recorded throughout.
Students Paint Graffiti on Temporary Sanctioned
Surface to Welcome American Breakdance Group

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Sugar Street  Du’o’ng Du’o’ng

An adjacent media and technol-

ogy lab will contain equipment
for capturing and editing digital
media such as video, photography
and sound. Internet technologies
focused at peer-distribution will
be an integral component of the American Musician and Student Record Music and Vocals into Mac G5
lab.

The Media Archive Library will

coexist with the media/
technology lab to archive and
provide free media to qualified
parties.

Documenting Festival in Metal Crafts Village

Self-documentation, Trial and Error

A porous approach to creating art and media will introduce
young people to postmodern Western culture through the
exploration of process. The young people at Sugar Street will
continually document their creative process for real-time
feedback and retrospective consideration.

In a safe space where success is not an objective and process is val-

ued over results, trial and error will be encouraged as an essential
mode of self-discovery. Documenting their own process and releasing
fear of mistakes will ultimately create in participants a sense of unique
identity and individual voice.

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Sugar Street  Du’o’ng Du’o’ng

Digital Convergence
sugarstreet.org

Sugar Street’s online presence will

mirror the physical space in its
intentions and structure. Just as
the physical space is a site for
experimentation, collaboration,
real-time support and feedback,
the website will provide a place
for participants that is their own
to “play” with.

The site will feature

optional weblogs for all of Sugarstreet.org will introduce

Sugar Street’s participants
discussion forums on all
topics so that local youth can
interact with one another and
make contact with like-minded
people all over the world
media exhibition and distri-
bution – an opportunity for par-
ticipants to display and broad-
cast their work
local efforts into the interna-
tional forum. It will facilitate
blending new technology and
cultural heritage into forms of
bricolage. It will help to build
an understanding of identity as
local youth claim their own
space and voice among a
multitude of voices on the
web. They will convey the value
of their shared cultural heri-
tage to the world each from
their own perspective.

While digital literacy is already prevalent among Vietnamese youth, the

effect is often isolating. Sugar Street will promote innovative uses of
communication technologies to cultivate the community within and to
facilitate convergence with the global community.

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Sugar Street  Du’o’ng Du’o’ng

Social Space and Community

The collaboration at Sugar Street and
online will influence the formation of a
social space which will serve as a hub
for collaborative networking beyond
location and digital networks.

As a collaborative intent emerges from

a shared social identity as artists, me-
dia makers and creatives, the social
manifestation beyond the actual space
becomes the real sustainability of the
Sugar Street project. The resulting de-
centralized social sphere will ultimately
supersede the real space.

Why Sugar Street? Why Now?

As Vietnam rapidly integrates itself into the global economy, it
becomes more and more essential that its citizens understand
global culture in order to succeed in that market. But economic
success aside, it is important that people in Vietnam are empow-
ered to contribute to the global culture that they will inevitably be
a part of.

The Western culture that Vietnam is courting is obsessed with

information exchange, entertainment and documentation. If Vietnam
does not have its own voice and a capacity to convey it, it will
always only be perceived voyeuristically. The world wants to know
about Vietnam, and Vietnam must have the human resource, a pool
of creative thinkers, media-makers and artists who will comprise a
collective voice that is distinctly Vietnam’s own.