In Conversation with Thi Bui

In Conversation with Thi Bui

Author: International Festival of Arts & Ideas April 8, 2024 Duration: 1:30:22

Keynote by Thi Bui, author and artist of the graphic memoir "The Best We Could Do".
Introduction by President Dr. Elsa Nunez, Eastern Connecticut State University
Moderated by Dr. Jason O. Chang, Associate Professor of History and Asian American Studies, Director of the Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, University of Connecticut

Welcome to our Keynote address by Thi Bui, author of the award winning graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do, sponsored, in part, by the award from the NEA Big Read.

The NEA Big Read —a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest—broadens our understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience. Showcasing a diverse range of themes, voices, and perspectives, the NEA Big Read aims to inspire meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections in each community.

Thanks to the generous co-sponsorship of the following organizations:

Asian American Cultural Center, UConn.
Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, UConn.
Bloomfield Public Library, Bloomfield, CT
New Haven Public Library
The David T. Langrock Foundation
The New Alliance Foundation
CT Humanities Council.
The National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe on YouTube!


From the vibrant stages and conversations of New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas comes Great Art, Big Ideas, a podcast that captures the festival's spirit of curious collision. Here, a choreographer might explain the geometry of movement alongside a physicist, or a playwright's process illuminates a community's untold history. This isn't a lecture series; it's a collection of dialogues where artistic practice and intellectual inquiry are inseparable, exploring everything from the deeply serious to the delightfully whimsical. Each episode is built on the belief that a novel and a scientific hypothesis can spark similar wonder, and that a performance can challenge assumptions as powerfully as a debate. You'll hear artists, thinkers, and innovators discuss the pressing topics that shape our local communities and the wider world, offering perspectives that often subvert expectations. Tuning into this podcast means accessing the festival's eclectic programming year-round, discovering how a single idea, examined through different lenses, can fundamentally shift your point of view. The conversations are designed to linger, prompting new connections long after the episode ends. It’s for anyone who finds fuel in the space where disciplines meet, where a big idea gives art its resonance and great art makes an idea tangible.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 37

Great Art, Big Ideas
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