Context

Born in Tasmania to a Vietnamese father and an Australian mother, Kerry Nguyen-Long, who is a respected scholar on Vietnamese ceramics and art history, Mai Nguyen-Long spent her childhood and teens living in Papua New Guinea and The Philippines. Temporarily returning to Australia aged 19 (1989), Mai received her Bachelor of Arts / Asian Studies majoring in Art History from the Australian National University (1991) with a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies from the University of Sydney (1993). She studied Mandarin language at the Beijing Language Institute throughout 1992, and in 1994 spent a year in Vietnam where she studied Vietnamese language at the Vietnam National University, and Vietnamese Art History and Life Drawing at Hanoi University of Fine Arts, again returning to Australia where she completed a Master of Arts in Visual Arts at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University in 1997.  She settled in Sydney in 1997 and relocated to Bulli in 2010.

Mai Nguyen-Long in studio. Photo courtesy William Yang 26.10.10

Exhibitions: Solo
2010: True Blue Doggie Morph, NG Art Gallery
2008: Godog & the Ascension of Dag Girl, NG Art Gallery, Chippendale NSW
2007: Dag Girl & the Baby in the Box, SLOT, Redfern NSW
2007: Aqua Mutt: an Installation with Dag Girl, Incinerator Arts Complex VIC
2004: Mai long, SLOT, Redfern NSW
2003: Mai Long Sydney Paintings, Ray Hughes Gallery, Surry Hills NSW
1999: Food Hall: Sweet After Taste, Regent Street Gallery, Redfern NSW
1998: Myopic Macros, Sutton Gallery, Fitzroy VIC
1998: Mai Long New Works, Bellas Gallery, Fortitude Valley QLD
1996: Mai Nguyen Long, Bellas Gallery, Fortitude Valley QLD
1996: E Chong: A Bilingual Installation with Incorrect Translations, Hanoi, Vietnam
1996: Transit Lounge (Arrivals –Departures), Australia Centre Gallery, Philippines

Exhibitions: Selected Group
2011: Afghanistan–Australian Arts Project:
Catharsis, Tragedy and Restoration, Afghanistan, Dubai, Sydney
2011: Switching/Shifting, East & West Art, Kew East VIC
2011: Doggie Dogma, A-space on Cleveland, Surry Hills NSW
2010: Chemical Agents, Artists of the 17th Parallel, Library Artspace, North Fitzroy VIC
2010: CarriageArtworks group show, Redfern NSW
2009: A Bar to Call Home: the Changing Face of the RSL, NG Art Gallery NSW
2009: My Heart My Food My Country, NG Art Gallery NSW
2009:Vietnam Voices: Australians & the Vietnam War, Casula Powerhouse NSW
2009: Nam Bang!, Casula Powerhouse NSW
2009: Too the Dogs, ASpace on Cleveland, Surry Hills NSW
2009: Minding Animals, John Paynter Gallery Newscastle NSW
2009: Artists of the 17th Parallel SLOT, Redfern NSW
2009: Summer Salon, NG Art Gallery NSW
2009: Carriageworks, Art from the Fringe multiple galleries
2009: SLOT 5th Year Anniversary, Satellite Project, Redfern NSW
2009: Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
2009: Blake Prize for Religious Art Director’s Cut
2009: Windows on Pain, Carriageworks & travelling venues NSW
2009: Hope House for Afghan widows, Sydney College of the Arts NSW
2008:  Newtown, Macquarie St NSW
2000: Viet: Celebrating 25 Years of Vietnamese Settlement In Australia; 3-26 Nov, Casula Powerhouse, Casula NSW
2000: Thinking Aloud, Ray Hughes Gallery, Surry Hills NSW
2000: Feature Artist: Rural Mental Health Conference 2000 Port Macquarie NSW
1999: Guest Artist Vietnam-Australia Cultural Exchange Projects, Carnivale, Sydney NSW
1999: Vietnam Voices: Australians & the Vietnam War, Casula Powerhouse, Casula NSW
1999: Annual Group Show, Gallery 4A, Chinatown NSW
1997: Vietnam Voices, Casula Powerhouse, Casula NSW
1997: Then and Now, Bellas Gallery, Fortitude Valley QLD
1997: Humid State, Queensland College Art Gallery, Seven Hills QLD
1996: Diverse Alliances, Ecole D’Art, New Caledonia
1996: Ang de Latang Pinoy (Yes, the Filipino Can!), Hiraya Gallery, Manila, Philippines
1996: Feature Artist: Schizophrenia Awareness, Brisbane Exhibition Centre QLD
1996: Editions, Bellas Gallery, Fortitude Valley QLDSuper Seed, Frasers Studios, Chippendale NSW
2008: Food for Thought, NG Art Gallery, Chippendale NSW
2008: Sydney Art Fair NSW
2008: Salon Des Refuses, SH Ervin & River Art Gallery NSW
2008: Pooch, ASpace on Cleveland, Surry Hills NSW
2008: WAYS Youth Services charity art auction, Ravesi’s NSW
2007:   Fragile Planet, NG Art Gallery, Chippendale NSW
2007: Pocket Sculptures, ASpace on Cleveland, Surry Hills NSW
2007: Political Football, The Artist’s Garden, Fitzroy VIC
2007: Cropped, SLOT, Redfern NSW
2007: Canine Capers, ASpace on Cleveland, Surry Hills NSW
2007: Sydney Art Fair
2006-8: I Love Pho, Casula Powerhouse Project at Liverpool Regional Museum, Footscray Community Arts Centre, and Breadbox Gallery (touring NSW, VIC, WA)
2000: Ba Chi Em: Three Sisters, Cabramatta Library, Cutcliffe Gallery, and NSW Parliament House, Cabramatta,

Residencies / Other
2009: Finalist, Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
2009: Finalist, Blake Prize for Religious Art Director’s Cut
2009: City of Melbourne / ArtPlay $20,000 grant for “Mission Mongrel”
workshop & exhibition auspiced by Multicultural Arts Victoria
2008: Finalist Salon Des Refuses, SH Ervin Gallery NSW
2008: Frasers Studios (3 months) Chippendale NSW
1999: Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AusAID), Ministry of Health, Fiji
1996: Hanoi University of Fine Arts via QLD College of Art (2 months) Hanoi, Vietnam 1996: Manila Studio via Queensland College of Art (2 months) Manila, Philippines

Collections
Artbank, Australian Embassy in Hanoi, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Private & Corporate collections

 Selected Studies / Education
1997: Master of Arts in Visual Arts, Queensland College of the Arts, Griffith University
1994: Art History and Life Drawing, Hanoi University of Fine Arts, Vietnam
1994: Vietnamese Art History, Hanoi University of Fine Arts
1993: Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies, University of Sydney
1990: BA/Asian Studies (Art History & Modern Chinese), Australian National University
1988: International Baccalaureate Diploma, AISM, Philippines

Selected Other Projects
2010-11: Storyteller/Performer, “Stories East & West”, Company B Belvoir (2 week season) & Parramatta Riverside Theatre, Directed by William Yang and Annette Shun Wah supported by Performance 4a (Asian Arts Association of Australia)
2008: Developed and facilitated: “Pho Dog the Mongrel Adventurer”; a workshop for adults & children in VIC, WA, NSW: at Art Play, Footscray Community Arts Centre, KULCHA, Casula Powerhouse – funded and toured by KULTOUR, and Casula Powerhouse