Fulbright University Vietnam is honored to introduce five distinguished members of the Art and Media Studies Committee under its Industry Advisory Board. Bringing together accomplished artists, filmmakers, designers, and cultural leaders, the committee supports the program’s mission to cultivate critically minded, creative, and socially engaged practitioners. With experience spanning contemporary art, filmmaking, branding and design, and cultural institution building, these members offer valuable perspectives that help keep the curriculum intellectually rigorous, creatively ambitious, and closely connected to evolving artistic and media landscapes in Vietnam and beyond.

Members:

1. Tuan Andrew Nguyen – Artist

Tuan Andrew Nguyen is a multidisciplinary artist giving aesthetic form to the enduring repercussions of violence and dispossession. He grounds his films and sculptures in the histories of communities grappling with intergenerational traumas of war and displacement, in places ranging from his native Vietnam to the Philippines, Senegal, Papua New Guinea, and the United States. Much of his work explores moving images and material objects as repositories of memory and the potential for storytelling to be an instrument of healing and resistance against colonial erasure. In addition to his artistic practice, he was a co-founder of Sàn Art, an independent artist-run space in Ho Chi Minh City, and a co-founder of the cross-disciplinary art collective The Propeller Group. Nguyen’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at such venues as the New Museum (New York, NY); Fondació Joan Miró (Barcelona, Spain); Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Cape Town, South Africa); the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, DC); San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY). In 2025 he was named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The annual fellowship, often referred to as the “genius grant,” honors individuals demonstrating exceptional creativity and a strong potential for future achievements across a range of disciplines.

2. Quynh Nguyen – Founder of the Nguyen Art Foundation, Patron of CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art)

Quynh Nguyen is a prominent businesswoman and dedicated patron of the arts and education. Since 1995, she has been the founder and CEO of Viet Huong JSC, a leading flavor and fragrance company in Vietnam. Her commitment to education began in 2007 with the co-founding of the Renaissance International School Saigon. In 2014, she established the International Modern Art Gallery (IMA Gallery) in Houston, Texas, where she also served as director. Upon her return to Vietnam, she co-founded the EMASI Schools, where the arts are integral to the schools’ missions and curricula. In 2018, she marked a significant milestone by establishing Nguyen Art Foundation (NAF_. NAF was born from a desire to better serve the artistic community of Vietnam. Acting as a branching support structure, NAF expands the possibilities for contemporary art in Vietnam by facilitating artistic and intellectual exchange through its Collection, Exhibitions, Education and Public Programs, and Development Projects, in the hope that such initiatives will not only enrich individual practices but also promote the overall growth of the local art scene.

3. Chi-An Benjamin De Leo – Partner & CEO, Base Design

Chi-An Benjamin De Leo launched his career in the advertising world at LoweVietnam, where he played a key role in establishing the agency’s branding department, providing a foundational experience in building brand identities from the ground up. After several years, his passion for branding and design led him to co-found Rice Creative in 2011, an agency that would later evolve into BaseSGN, part of the Base Design family, a global network of independent studios across New York, Brussels, Geneva, Melbourne, Digital and now proudly, Ho Chi Minh City. As Partner and CEO of BaseSGN, he now spearheads business growth and development, applying a sharp, strategic acumen that parallels his lifelong passion for chess. He has earned multiple international awards, including D&AD, Red Dot, TDC, Pentawards, and the Dieline. Recognized for his expertise and contributions to the industry, Chi-An has been invited to serve on the jury for international design awards like D&AD, the Dieline, Macau Design Awards, and others. In 2019, he became a member of the esteemed AGI alliance and now serves as the country president.

4. Phan Gia Nhật Linh – Filmmaker

Phan Gia Nhật Linh is a film director, screenwriter, and former critic. He began his career writing film criticism under the pen name Phan Xi Nê and contributed to prominent Vietnamese cinema publications before pursuing formal education in film and media production. In 2006, he earned a prestigious Ford Foundation scholarship to study filmmaking at the University of Southern California, an experience that deepened his commitment to telling Vietnamese stories. After returning to Vietnam, Phan transitioned into film production and direction. His feature directorial debut, Em là bà nội của anh (2015), was both a critical and box-office success, winning audience acclaim at the Vietnam Film Festival. He followed this with popular films such as Cô gái đến từ hôm qua (2017) and Em và Trịnh (2022), a biographical drama about musician Trịnh Công Sơn that grossed significant revenue in Vietnamese cinemas. Known for blending commercial appeal with cultural depth, Phan brings contemporary sensibilities to Vietnamese storytelling. His journey from critic to commercially successful auteur highlights his passion for both cinema and Vietnamese identity, and he remains a prominent voice shaping the country’s modern film industry.

5. Trần Phương Thảo – Filmmaker

Trần Phương Thảo is an independent documentary filmmaker renowned for her empathetic explorations of contemporary Vietnamese life. She graduated from Hanoi Foreign Trade University before moving to France to study journalism at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (SciencesPo) and then documentary filmmaking at the University of Poitiers. Upon returning to Vietnam, she became a key figure in Varan Vietnam, the local branch of the Paris-based Ateliers Varan, an association of filmmakers based in Paris, France, whose primary work is running non-academic hands-on courses in documentary filmmaking both in France and across the world. Founded in 1981 with the spirit and support of Jean Rouch, it has trained generations of documentary filmmakers in places ranging from Vietnam to Kenya, Serbia, Georgia and Afghanistan. Her debut film, Workers’ Dreams (2006), received international recognition, including a grant at Cinéma du Réel. Over the years she has collaborated extensively with Swann Dubus, co-directing films such as With or Without Me (2011), Finding Phong (2015), and Pomelo (2019), which explore deeply personal stories against the backdrop of Vietnam’s social and economic transformation. Beyond her filmmaking, she is committed to supporting the next generation of documentary talent through Varan Vietnam’s creative workshops.