The IndependentDixie Forum PresentationDuring a multifaceted presentation, an internationally renowned Vietnamese guitarist, storyteller and filmmaker will present “Cultural Understanding Through the Arts” at Dixie State University’s next installment in the “Dixie Forum: A Window on the World” series.
Tinh Mahoney’s presentation is set to take place from noon to 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, at the Dunford Auditorium in the Browning Resource Center on the DSU campus. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend.
For his presentation, Mahoney will draw from his experiences of growing up in the midst of the Vietnam War and later living in Pakistan, the Philippines and the United States. Having accomplished his “American Dream,” Mahoney expresses gratitude for his freedom, security and endless possibilities.
Mahoney travels to middle schools, high schools and colleges to promote education through cultural awareness. Through his musical and storytelling performances, Tinh describes his struggles growing up in war-torn Vietnam, his family’s escape before the fall of Saigon in 1975, and his migration to the U.S. to complete his education. He encourages students to embrace the transformative power of education by sharing his experiences of growing up in Binh Thuan province, where education is a one-way ticket out of poverty. Offering future generations this ticket to success, Mahoney is a founder of the Village School Foundation, a nonprofit organization that builds schools, sponsors scholarships and provides healthcare to needy children and their families.
Dixie Forum is a lecture series designed to introduce the St. George community and DSU students, faculty and staff to diverse ideas and personalities while widening their worldviews via a 50-minute presentation. The weekly series will continue Tuesday, March 24, at noon in the Dunford Auditorium, when Caitlin Horrocks and Todd Kaneko present about poetry.
For more information on Dixie State University’s Dixie Forum series, please contact DSU Forum coordinator John Burns at 435-879-4712 or [email protected] or visit www.dixie.edu/humanities/dixie_forum.php.
DocUtah Screening of “Land Where My Heart Lies”
Tinh Mahoney, renowned Vietnamese guitarist and story teller will perform at the Eccles Fine Arts Concert Hall on March 17. His compositions and stories are derived from his experience growing up in the midst of the Vietnam War, and his later years living in Pakistan, the Philippines, and finally the United States.
The event takes place on March 17 at 7:30 P.M. and also includes a screening of Tinh’s film, Land Where My Heart Lies, which the artist describes as “a visual poem which captures the beauty and the spirit of Vietnam, Binh Thuan province.” Tickets can be purchased through the University here. Tinh’s visit also includes a lecture at the University earlier in the day on Cultural Understanding Through the Arts.
“Dixie State University and DOCUTAH are very proud to have the opportunity to host a performer of such immense talent. It is a tribute to the growing reputation of the film and performing arts programs of DSU and DOCUTAH,” said Dr. Jeffery Jarvis, Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at DSU. “Tinh is on a United States tour and has made the time to visit Southern Utah to perform and lecture for our students and community. We are grateful for the sponsorship of David and Carol Hansen to make this remarkable performance happen.”
“I met Tinh in Vietnam while my son was filming the documentary Soldiers’ Sanctuary, which tells the story of combat veterans healing the scars of war,” said David Hansen, a Vietnam veteran involved in the PeaceTrees Vietnam project. “He was looking for some music which would complement the vision of the film and have a cultural connection to Vietnam. Tinh’s haunting music was perfect.”
Soldiers’ Sanctuary was shown at the 2014 DOCUTAH International Film Festival. It follows a group of US veterans of the Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam wars return to the battlefield of Khe Sanh, Vietnam, where they meet with veterans of the People’s Army to plant trees on the site of the wartime combat base. This historic event is the foundation of the Khe Sanh Garden, a world sanctuary dedicated to honoring the memory of fallen soldiers from all sides of armed combat and reconciling in peace with former enemies.
The 2015 DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival, held at Dixie State University in Saint George, Utah, runs from September 8-12 and is currently accepting submissions. To date, DOCUTAH has received 102 submissions from 26 countries.
