Friday, June 5, 2026 - Saturday, June 6, 2026

Five Angels Theater @ The 52nd Street Project (789 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10019)

Presented by Amalia Suryani, and in celebration of Saung Budaya's 20th anniversary, KulturAksi: NY Indonesian Art Fest is an immersive show that brings various forms of Indonesian art together under one roof. This milestone event serves as a platform for local, New York-based Indonesian artists to showcase the archipelago's rich heritage through music, dance, visual arts, culinary traditions, and literature. The event will include collaborations with organizations such as the Endangered Language Alliance to facilitate discussions on classic Indonesian literature and linguistic diversity.

The SUNY/CUNY Southeast Asia Consortium, with support from GETSEA, invites graduate students and advanced undergraduates to explore Southeast Asian studies through art, archives, and networking activities on April 18, 2026 at Cornell University.

Cornell is home to the Southeast Asia Program (SEAP), which will host the gathering, highlighting its world-renowned library and art collections alongside opportunities to connect with peers and scholars. Networking activities will focus on topics such as publishing, producing a podcast, and the interests of participants. 

Fill out this form to request travel funding from SUNY/CUNY SEAC and to reserve your space. The deadline to complete this form is Friday, April 10, 2026. SEAP will match those students who request help with accommodations with Cornell graduate students willing to host. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided as part of the programming on April 18. 

Those arriving early on April 17 are welcome to join a Friday night Southeast Asia game night at the Kahin Center.  

On April 18, the program will include:

• A guided visit to the Echols Collection in the Kroch Library, with curator Greg Green and librarian Jeff Peterson

• New Year celebrations (water festival) with Cambodian, Thai, and Myanmar student organizations

• A Balinese art session with Professor Kaja McGowan on art in research and pedagogy

• Evening dinner and networking at the Kahin Center, SEAP’s home base

Participants traveling by bus or with limited schedules are welcome to arrive late or depart early; please indicate your plans when registering.

SUNY Buffalo State Global Studies Institute 15th Annual Southeast Asia Week: "Why Southeast Asia? Groundbreaking Experiences and Knowledge of the Region and Beyond”

Presented by: Small Business Development Center, Buffalo State University, and the SUNY/CUNY Southeast Asia Consortium

Register here to virtually attend Event #4: International Dialogue Exploring Comparative Education in the US and Southeast Asia

Please email vanchav@buffalostate.edu if you have any questions.

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross presents the exhibition, The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War: Fashion, Citizenship, and Nationalism (1954–1975), on view through December 19, 2025. Timed to the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s end, the exhibition offers a fresh lens on the conflict through Vietnam’s national costume—the áo dài—highlighting its cultural and political significance in the US and abroad. With Worcester home to one of the state’s largest Vietnamese and Vietnamese American communities, the show aims to spark connection, reflection, and dialogue around a history that still resonates today.

The hours for the Cantor Art Gallery are Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturdays noon – 5 p.m.

The Cantor Art Gallery is located in the Prior Performing Arts Center, 3rd level, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610. The building is handicap accessible. Admission to the gallery is free.

More information and details:

Co-curated by Dr. Ann Marie Leshkowich of Holy Cross, Dr. Martina Thucnhi Nguyen of Baruch College-CUNY, and Dr. Tuong Vu of the University of Oregon, the exhibition features thirty historic and contemporary garments that illustrate how clothing has been used to show solidarity with—or opposition to—political ideologies and cultural identity. More than half of the objects were worn by two prominent First Ladies of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)—Madame Ngô Đình Nhu and Madame Nguyễn Văn Thiệu—during the 1960s and 1970s.

Co-curator Dr. Martina Nguyen reflects on the significance of this exhibition: “As a child of Vietnamese refugees raised in rural Texas, I grew up looking at photos of Madame Nhu and Madame Thiệu in history books. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would ever see these iconic áo dài, much less work with them. We are proud to bring these important historical artifacts to the public, to highlight the agency of women and the Vietnamese American community in the history of the Vietnam War.”

Like other examples of national clothing, such as the Scottish kilt or Japanese kimono, the áo dài (pronounced ow yai or ow zai)—a long tunic with a high collar and side slits worn over wide-legged pants—has become an icon of Vietnamese national identity. This exhibition asserts that the “national costume,” seemingly a traditional marker of culture, is a modern construction that changes over time. In showing how something as seemingly mundane and innocuous as clothing was used to assert Vietnamese nationalism and cultural identity during decades of violent civil and international strife, the exhibition focuses on the fascinating, yet rarely connected, topics of fashion and war.

Co-curator Dr. Leshkowich explains: “We don’t often think of war and fashion together, but clothing can be an especially potent political weapon. During the Vietnam War, high-profile women on very different political sides shared a sense that Vietnam’s national costume was an important symbol of Vietnamese culture and heritage. The messages they sent helped to shape the course of the war, not just within northern and southern Vietnam, but also in the White House and the peace negotiations in Paris.”

Contemporary garments in the exhibition, including the first áo dài worn on the Oscars’ red carpet, speak to the ongoing fascination with and prevalence of the style in Vietnam and among Vietnamese Americans today. The garments are further contextualized by representations in mass media, photography, pop culture, and fine art.

Co-curator Dr. Vu is the Director of the US-Vietnam Research Center at the University of Oregon. He says: “Nothing is like the áo dài as the symbol of female beauty in Vietnam, yet its history also reflects the fascinating evolution of the country's culture and society in the past 100 years. The US-Vietnam Research Center is proud to contribute to this exhibition that we hope will offer Americans, including Vietnamese Americans, a fresh way of understanding Vietnamese history and culture.”

The exhibition is generously supported by the Coby Foundation, the Carpenter Foundation, and the Daymarc Foundation. Related programming will be available throughout the duration of the exhibition. All events will be posted to the Cantor Art Gallery’s website and Prior Performing Arts Center’s website.

About Holy Cross: The College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Mass., is among the nation's leading liberal arts institutions. A highly selective, four-year, exclusively undergraduate college of 3,200 students, Holy Cross is renowned for offering a rigorous, personalized education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition. Since its founding in 1843, Holy Cross has made a positive impact in society by graduating students who distinguish themselves as thoughtful leaders in business, professional and civic life.

About the Cantor Art Gallery: Founded in 1983 through the generosity of Iris & B. Gerald Cantor, the Cantor Art Gallery serves both as a venue for a changing series of historical and contemporary public exhibitions, as well as a vital resource for Holy Cross faculty and students, linking exhibitions to the broader liberal arts curriculum.

This course, Climate Change, Sustainability, and Geography, examines environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability in Southeast Asia. Participants will learn about these dimensions with a close examination of their contributing factors, challenges, adaptation and mitigation strategies and practices from a multi-disciplinary perspective.

The course is open to all students in CUNY and SUNY, grad and undergrad, regardless of discipline.

Your co-professors will be Vida Vanchan (SUNY Buffalo State University), Michitake Aso (SUNY Albany), and Peter Marcotullio (CUNY Hunter College). 

Key details (subject to final confirmation!): 

• 1-credit (with a 0-credit audit option)

• One 1.5-hour online-synchronous meeting/week for 10 weeks

• Enrollment via registering for an independent study with one of the lead faculty or a professor at your home institution (but you will then join the class)

• No prerequisites

FAQ:

Q: Do I need to be a part of the January field school to be a part of the course?

A: No, though there will be some overlap in members of the class and those who are part of the January 2026 field school, you are welcome to join the class without being a part of the field school.

Q: How do I join the class?

A: Fill out the course interest form, linked here

Have other questions? Watch our recorded info session below and check out the information session slides here.

In conjunction with our Spring 2025 course, SEAC will offer the opportunity for SEAC members to apply to participate in our Summer 2025 Field School and Workshop. This will take place in Malaysia.

Upon arrival, participants will work with the cohort and faculty to begin workshopping their projects. Participants will workshop a project related to the theme of the year, Southeast Asian Identities in Popular Culture and Literature, in any area of Southeast Asia, from any disciplinary perspective. Papers for the workshop may address issues of identity as connected to or reflected in popular culture and/or literature, in any area of Southeast Asia, from any disciplinary perspective. (Paper presentations are optional for undergraduate student attendees.)

For the field school, participants will explore emergent, creative scholarly approaches, including applied methods, to examine how popular cultural efforts and artifacts reflect, shape, and are shaped by both dominant and marginalized Southeast Asian identities, in Southeast Asia and among diasporic populations.

Eligibility:

• Faculty including temporary, non-tenure track, tenure track, and tenured

• Graduate students PhD, MA, and other

• Undergraduate students currently registered and continuing students at SUNY and CUNY enrolled in any discipline of study who are engaged in research or studies related to this year’s theme are eligible to apply.

Approximately ten (10) participants will be selected.

SEAC will cover the cost of:

• Airfare to Malaysia

• Room and board for duration of workshop and field school

• Travel insurance (need to be a current student in order to participate)

Responsibilities:

Selected graduate students and undergraduate students will participate in:

• an online synchronous SUNY/CUNY orientation in the Spring semester

• a 3-day workshop in June 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• a 7-day field school following the workshop, also in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Students who plan to apply to the field school are encouraged to enroll in a related online-synchronous course in Spring 2025.

Selected faculty (and graduate students interested only in the workshop) will participate in:

• an online synchronous SUNY/CUNY orientation in the Spring semester 2025

• a 3-day workshop in June 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

What are we looking for? 

From Faculty and Graduate Applications:

1. Quality of Research Project

2. Explanation of how the field school and research in Southeast Asia can benefit your project and career trajectory 

From Undergrad Applications:

1. Motivation: Why do you want to go to Southeast Asia? While heritage students are encouraged, we are especially looking for those who also have intellectual interest.

2. Quality of Research Project

How to Apply:

Deadline: February 17, 2025, 5 pm ET.

Please compile all materials as a single PDF and submit them via email to SEAC@sunycunysoutheastasiaconsortium.org with the subject line “SEAC Workshop 2025” by February 17, 2025, 5 pm ET. Selected applicants will be notified no later than March 17, 2025.

Faculty:

Please submit this application form and the following documents:

1.      Statement of interest in the SUNY/CUNY SEAC Fellowship and this year’s core research agenda, “Southeast Asian identities in popular culture and literature.” Please indicate your prior exposure to or engagement with Southeast Asia, if any, and address how this program will benefit your future academic and/or career goals. (300-500 words)

2.     An abstract for consideration for the workshop (300-500 words)

3.     An updated curriculum vitae

4.     This application form

Graduate students:

Please submit this application form and the following documents:

1.      Statement of interest in the SUNY/CUNY SEAC Fellowship and this year’s core research agenda, “Southeast Asian identities in popular culture and literature.” Please indicate your prior exposure to or engagement with Southeast Asia, if any, and address how this program will benefit your future academic and/or career goals. (300-500 words)

2.     An abstract for consideration for the workshop (300-500 words)

3.     A resume or curriculum vitae

4.     A digital copy of recent university/college transcripts

5.     This application form

Undergraduate students:

Please submit this application form and the following documents:

1.      Statement of interest in the SUNY/CUNY SEAC Fellowship and this year’s core research agenda, “Southeast Asian identities in popular culture and literature.” Please indicate your prior exposure to or engagement with Southeast Asia, if any, and address how this program will benefit your future academic and/or career goals. (300-500 words)

2.     A proposed topic of research interest you would like to explore in the workshop related to this year’s theme, popular culture and literature in Southeast Asia (300-500 words)

3.     A resume or curriculum vitae

4.     A digital copy of recent university/college transcripts

5.     This application form

Inquiries about the application and admission process may be submitted to SEAC@sunycunysoutheastasiaconsortium.org
Facilitators

Dr. Lauren Meeker (SUNY New Paltz)

Dr. Martina Nguyen (Baruch College, CUNY)

Dr. E.K. Tan (SUNY Stony Brook)

SEAC 2025, Southeast Asian Identities in Popular Culture and Literature, examines how Southeast Asian identities are made “legible” across different cultural media. Participants will explore issues of representation and translation in contexts of change, such as colonialism/post-colonialism, diaspora and migration, settler colonialism, indigeneity, and globalization, and ask questions about who is included and excluded in processes of representation, translation, and globalization.

The course is open to all students in CUNY and SUNY, grad and undergrad, regardless of discipline.

Your co-professors will be EK Tan (Stony Brook University), Martina Nguyen (Baruch College/CUNY), and Lauren Meeker (SUNY New Paltz). 

Key details (subject to final confirmation): 

• 1-credit (with a 0-credit audit option)

• One 2-hour online-synchronous meeting/week 

• Enrollment via registering for an independent study (but you will then join the class)

• No prerequisites

FAQ:

Q: Do I need to be a part of the summer field school to be a part of the course?

A: No, though there will be some overlap in members of the class and those who are part of the Summer 2025 field school, you are welcome to join the class without being a part of the field school.

Q: How do I join the class?

A: Fill out the course interest form, linked below

Course Interest Form

Have other questions? Watch our recorded information session and check out the information session slides below.

Information Session Slides