TWO of history’s most famous rebellious teens are the inspiration for a creative arts competition.
The Footscray-based Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA) is hosting the writing and creative arts competition in collaboration with Victoria University and the Offset journal, seeking responses inspired by the Trung Sisters. Prizes of up to $3000 are on offer and a book of the best compositions will be launched on March 4 – the 30th anniversary of the AVWA.
AVWA founder Cam Nguyen said the sisters not only drove back the armed forces occupying the heartland of North Vietnam
in the 1st century AD but kept them at bay for three years while reigning as the ‘Trung Queens’. She wants the competition to open the story to the wider community, at the same time encouraging younger people with Vietnamese heritage to learn more about these inspirational sisters.
Entries re-imagining the story of the Trung Sisters in a 21st century context, in English or Vietnamese, can take the form of poetry, a short story, play, painting, sculpture, song or essay. Entries close on August 17. Details and entries: offsetjournal.com
