Repairing the social fabric one conversation at a time.
Social Sculptor: The Kennedy Center, University of Michigan Museum of Art,
Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Center, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Educator: University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy, SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Kallion
Speaker: Davidson College, Cato Institute, Fort Worth Sparkfest
Writer: WETA Art Critic, CNN Opinion, Washington Monthly, “The Greatest Poem” short film
Activating the transformative power of the arts to design spaces for honest conversations and human interactions.
Building relationships as the foundation for social change and for creating a society in which all humans flourish.
Strengthening human connections by applying relational thinking to everything.
what people are saying
“Y’all count me in, the sooner we start seeing how much the same we are the sooner our lives will benefit.”
artist philippa pham hughes’s latest work is a massive dinner party bringing conservatives and liberals together ahead of the midterm elections
The artist Philippa Pham Hughes wants people from both sides of the political aisle to sit down and hash things out. America, it’s time we had a talk. In the lead up to the mid-term elections in the U.S., political discourse has become more polarized than ever.
trump fans and foes break bread at washington dinner party
It’s Tuesday night and Philippa Hughes is putting together the finishing touches on dinner. Hughes is hosting a dinner party for strangers to talk politics over pasta. It’s an idea that could very easily get messy, and maybe that’s only appropriate for an idea borne from a messy presidential election.
across the country, liberals and conservatives are coming together at moderated dinners to understand each other better
After the 2016 election, Hughes, a Democrat, felt compelled to talk to Trump voters. The daughter of a conservative Vietnamese mother and a white father who was a lifelong union member, Hughes grew up in a working-class suburb of Richmond. But as an undergrad at the University of Virginia, she felt out of place. “I’ve often felt invisible in my life, and I think that’s how a lot of America feels,” she told me. “Who is speaking for me? Who is listening to me? I want to let you know I’m listening.”
this clinton fan invited trump supporters for dinner. healing divides isn’t so easy.
Though Hughes does not live far from the white house, no one in her inner circle supported the nation’s 45th president. But on this evening, Hughes was hosting a dinner with six people on opposite sides of the country’s political divide.
project highlights
We Should Talk: The Greatest Poem
The Greatest Poem was the first in a series of multi-media art installations and programs called We Should Talk in which multi-disciplinary Asian American women artists create space to explore the nuances and complexities of what it means to be an Asian American woman. We Should Talk is led by curator and artist Philippa Pham Hughes and artists Adele 이슬 Kenworthy and Xena Ni. We apply an aesthetic of care and delight to creating relational spaces in which we share deeply and honestly, learn from one another, explore, and flourish together. The Greatest Poem features the paintings and poetry of Thu Anh Nguyễn, a short, animated film produced by Philippa Pham Hughes called The Greatest Poem, and expressions of Asian American identity from AAPI women across the country that have been turned into found poems by Thu Anh.
Hey, We Need To Talk, 2024
In this deeply divided era, one of the hardest things you can do is talk to someone who thinks differently from you. But that’s exactly what we need to do if we want to solve the social and political problems our country faces and if we want to create a society in which everyone flourishes. Strengthening our social bonds happens when we begin to care about each other again. That begins with a conversation.
Philippa Hughes transformed the Crumpacker Gallery at the University of Michigan Museum of Art into a social sculpture, an artwork that becomes complete when human connections happen, where you can have honest, caring, common sense conversations. This artwork was inspired by the work of U-M Professor Jenna Bednar, who proposes four pillars of flourishing: community, sustainability, dignity, and beauty.
Looking For America
What does it mean to be American? How do different communities—in the Midwest, at the border, in cities and in rural areas—answer that question? Across the United States, we’re inviting local artists and community members of all backgrounds and political stripes to come together to share their stories and perspectives.