Clément Baloup’s Visit and the Launch of Vietnamese Memories: Down Under

In October 2025, Clément Baloup, French-Vietnamese graphic novelist and visiting scholar at the School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, spent two weeks in Australia teaching, running comic workshops, and leading seminars on graphic art, memory and diasporic narratives. His visit coincided with the release of Vietnamese Memories: Down Under, his fifth volume in the Mémoires de Viet Kieu series. Co-translated by Dr Tess Do (University of Melbourne) and Dr Charlotte Mackay (Monash University), Baloup’s latest graphic novel––now available at Readings––was presented at the Graphic Narrative Symposium, the public seminar Graphic storytelling from Down Under: visualising Vietnamese memory in Australia (University of Melbourne), and the 2025 Annual European Languages Lecture (Monash University). Baloup also gave two interviews on SBS Radio (Vietnamese and French programs) and met with friends and readers at the Vietnamese community-led book launch in Footscray, Victoria. These major public and inter-institutional events brought together a diverse audience of students, scholars, artists, and members of the Australian, French, and Vietnamese diasporic communities –– including Ms Paule Ignatio, Consul General of France in Melbourne–-reflects the resonance of Baloup’s work across cultures, histories, and generations.