MCLA MOSAIC to Present Benedetti Artist in Residence Ngoc-Tran Vu

January 30, 2026

MOSAIC at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is hosting cultural organizer and multimedia visual artist Ngoc-Tran Vu as the 2026 Benedetti Artist in Residence for the spring semester.

Vu is excited to support and cultivate grassroots creative advocacy in North Adams through Creative Sector Advocacy Week with MASSCreative, taking place March 2-6, 2026, as well as her opening lecture at 12 p.m. on February 12 at MCLA. Her residency will culminate in a public event and exhibition on May 14 at MOSAIC’s Eventspace, located at 49 Main Street in North Adams.

During her Benedetti Teaching Artist Residency, Vu will bring her socially engaged practice into the classroom, studio, and wider North Adams community as a space for public memory making and creative civic engagement. Her residency will support the next advocacy phase of “1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial,” an intergenerational, community-led public art initiative rooted in storytelling, healing, and belonging. In a time when inequity and limited resources continue to shape who gets seen, funded, and supported in public art, Vu is committed to strengthening local networks, navigating resources with care and nourishments, while building new relationships that help move shared visions forward with accountability and clarity.

Through participatory gatherings such as memory mapping, story circles, and collaborative sessions grounded in nourishment and collective care, Vu invites students, local artists, and residents to explore how resilience, sustainability, and belonging live across generations. As part of the residency, she will also prototype interpretive approaches that can support long-term stewardship and community ownership of public memory work beyond Boston, where she was raised and is currently based.

To connect with Tran and learn more about her work: @TranVuArts, www.tranvuarts.com

About Artist

Ngoc-Tran Vu is a 1.5-generation Vietnamese multimedia visual artist and cultural organizer based in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where she was raised. Her practice spans photography, painting, sculpture, and installation, creating immersive and participatory experiences that center migration, memory, ritual, and collective healing. She is the lead artist and project director of “1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial,” a community-driven public art initiative advancing toward permanent installation in Boston’s Little Saigon Cultural District. Vu holds an MA in Arts and Politics from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Ethnic Studies and Visual Arts from Brown University.

About the Benedetti Teaching Artist Residency

The Benedetti Teaching Artist Residency is a visiting instructor and artist-in-residence fellowship offered through MCLA’s MOSAIC and Department of Fine and Performing Arts. Benedetti residents teach courses at MCLA while working in the studio as one of Gallery 51’s resident artists, culminating their tenure in an exhibition or public event. These artists enrich campus life through workshops, public programs, and mentorship, including collaborating with an MCLA student assistant throughout the school year. The residency is designed to bring new artistic perspectives to MCLA and strengthen the College’s commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion on campus and in the community.

This residency is funded by a generous bequest from the estate of Alma Benedetti ’37. A beloved North Adams art teacher and lifelong advocate and friend of the College, Alma Benedetti inspired generations of students with her dedication to color, composition, and design.

About MCLA
At MCLA, we’re here for all — and focused on each — of our students. Classes are taught by educators who care deeply about teaching, and about seeing their students thrive on every level of their lives. In every way possible, the experience at MCLA is designed to elevate our students as individuals, leaders, and communicators, fully empowered to make their impressions on the world. In addition to our 130-year commitment to public education, we have fortified our dedication to equitable academic excellence. MCLA has appeared on U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top Ten Public Colleges for 10 consecutive years, earning the No. 6 spot on the list of Top Public Liberal Arts Schools in the nation for 2025, after earning the No. 7 spot the prior three years. The College’s focus on affordable education and economic prosperity is reflected in additional 2025 U.S. News rankings: No. 5 for Top Performer on Social Mobility for liberal arts colleges in the state and No. 2 for Top Performer on Social Mobility for public liberal arts colleges in the country. These rankings measure how well schools graduate students who receive Federal Pell Grants.