Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive Center

04/20/2026

upcoming events in the OC & SEAA Center this quarter:

Gathering Memories of Southern California
When: Thursday May 7th from 11:00am-3:00pm

A zine workshop connecting archives and ethnobotany to document our experiences in the Southern California environment. Led by OC & SEAA student assistant, Isaac Jordan.

Panel - Rumduol: Echoes of Resilience
When: Wednesday May 13th from 6:00pm-8:00pm

A panel discussion in celebration of the launch of Rumduol: Echoes of Resilience catalog, featuring Caylee So, SEAA Ambassador! This event is co-sponsored by United Cambodian Community of Long Beach and Cambodian Awareness Organization.

Please RSVP here:
https://forms.gledMYK8jNLXUUdmdZt8

“Sweet Jail: The Sikhs of Yuba City” Film screening
When: Wednesday May 27th from 4:30pm-6:30pm
Sweet Jail is an ethnographic documentary exploring the early history from the 1920s of a Sikh family from India in Yuba City to Northern California.

Please RSVP here:
https://forms.gleLZwgNeY6ibNyUuj56

12/08/2025

We are excited to join for the virtual screening of Southeast Asian American Journeys on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 4–6 pm ET (1–3 pm PT)!

This 5-episode documentary series shares the voices and experiences of local SEAA communities across the US in commemoration of 50 years of refugee resettlement.

This is such a meaningful opportunity to learn from and connect with SEAA communities across the country. Please invite your networks to tune into SEARAC’s Facebook or YouTube on Dec. 13! More details can be found here:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ☆ SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ☆ December 13, 2025: Join us for a special virtual film screening Celebrate Southeast Asian American stories with us on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 4–6 pm ET (1–3 pm PT) as we wrap up this 50th year of SEAA refugee resettlement!We are excited to host a...

11/24/2025

Finding Family, Memory, and Story in the Archives
Tuesday December 2, 2025
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
OC&SEAA Center

Join Vinh Nguyen and Julia Huynh, curator for the Southeast Asian Archive, for a discussion of Vinh’s memoir, The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse, and a stimulating conversation about finding oneself and one’s history in the archives, the stories we create into being, and the longings of diaspora. The discussion will be moderated by Long Bui with comments by Dorthy Fujita-Rony followed by a Q&A.

This event is cosponsored by the Department of Asian American Studies, Department of Global and International Studies, and UC Irvine Libraries Special Collections and Archives, and UC Irvine Humanities Center.

Please RSVP here:

Finding Family, Memory, and Story in the Archives Tuesday December 2, 2025 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. OC&SEAA Center On January 28, 2013, Vinh Nguyen visited UC Irvine’s Southeast...

11/17/2025

11/10/2025

Finding Family, Memory, and Story in the Archives

Tuesday December 2, 2025
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
OC&SEAA Center

Join Vinh Nguyen and Julia Huynh, curator for the Southeast Asian Archive, for a discussion of Vinh’s memoir, The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse, and a stimulating conversation about finding oneself and one’s history in the archives, the stories we create into being, and the longings of diaspora.

This event is cosponsored by the Department of Asian American Studies, Department of Global and International Studies, and UC Irvine Libraries Special Collections and Archives.

Please RSVP here:

Finding Family, Memory, and Story in the Archives Tuesday December 2, 2025 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. OC&SEAA Center On January 28, 2013, Vinh Nguyen visited UC Irvine’s Southeast...

08/19/2025

Andrew Lam is a Vietnamese American author and journalist based in San Francisco.

08/08/2025

The CALT Graduation Ceremony and Docuseries Screenings TONIGHT!

06/04/2025

The Southeast Asian Archive is featured in the most recent ARCHIVAL OUTLOOK publication by the Society of American Archivists!

Shades of Orange County A Wider Lens Rachael Sevilla and Charla DelaCuadra, SAA Host Committee his year’s ARCHIVES*RECORDS conference will be held in Anaheim, California, located in Orange County. “The OC” is firmly situated in the collective imagination of the country. It might bring to mind ...

05/21/2025

Visit us at the OC & SEAA to view “Remembering Saigon: Journeys Through and From Guam” on display only until Friday May 30th!

Here’s a look back at the behind the scenes of installing the exhibit alongside past programming and events!

This exhibit highlights the narratives of CHamoru Vietnam War veterans, Vietnamese refugees, and Guamanians who contributed to Operation New Life. It features photographs, historical artifacts, archival documents, and oral histories from the UC Irvine Southeast Asian Archive, the Vietnamese Heritage Museum in Garden Grove, the Micronesia Area Research Center at the University of Guam, the Memoirs Pasifika podcast, the National Archives and Records Administration, and personal collections. We invite participants to consider how war, empire, and humanitarianism facilitated memorable encounters and lasting connections between different communities. These are stories of great upheaval and resiliency, that continue to reverberate in the contemporary moment.

Exhibit team:
Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies, UCLA
Trinh Dang, PhD Candidate in Global Studies, UC Irvine
Julia Huỳnh, Curator for the Southeast Asian Archive, UC Irvine
Audra Eagle Yun, Head of Special Collections & Archives, UC Irvine
Long T. Bui, Professor of Global and International Studies, UC Irvine
Tiara Na’puti, Associate Professor of Global and International Studies, UC Irvine
Dịu Hương Nguyễn, Assistant Professor of History, UC Irvine
Max Ronquillo, Jr., President & Board Secretary, Guam Philharmonic Foundation

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ7YJxPz6Vu/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

05/19/2025

05/12/2025

Please join us this Saturday May 17th for a community day and closing reception of the exhibition, Remembering Saigon: Journeys Through and From Guam.