Commerce(d) Culture

Commerce(d) Culture, a study of the consumer culture displayed in various Vietnamese grocery stores across the United States, explores the intersection of consumption and cultural practices in Vietnamese diasporic communities. From Little Saigon in Southern California to Philadelphia and smaller towns in rural Illinois, these stores range from independent corner shops to larger multi-aisle supermarkets, attracting thousands to millions of shoppers of cultural nostalgia or global cuisine exploration. These stores exist not only as a place of transaction but also a celebration of intercultural communities and immigrants’ experience on display. For many customers, shopping in these stores fulfills a craving for more than just items on the shelves. Unlike the ethnic section in other generic supermarkets, immigrant grocery stores are where people can shop for their everyday cooking ingredients and have the privilege of doing a quick grocery run without the constant reminder that they are aliens in the communal spaces they inhabit. The series unveil the complex intersection of history and culture, placemaking and displacement, and the aftermath of globalization and mass-commercialization muffled under a party of attractive colors, sounds, and textures in the mundane subject of a grocery store.