Biography

Victoria Xu is an anti-disciplinary artist whose work explores the potential of storytelling to create room for counter-histories and counter-archives. The power in re-membered and uplifted history drives their work though filmmaking, installation, and performance. Currently, they are part of a documentary team working with PrYSM, a Providence-based grassroots organization addressing Southeast Asian community needs such as over policing and deportation. They are working from a community-based mode of documentary filmmaking to uplift the Pheap family’s desire to tell their story and fight for justice in the wake of state violence. They are expected to graduate from Brown University in 2021 and are excited to develop a practice of collaborative, critical, and empowering art-making.

Project Description

Nearly two years ago, Channara Tom “Philly” Pheap was murdered by Officer Dylan Williams of the Knoxville Police, with no further recourse or disciplinary action. In the immediate aftermath local media outlets defamed him publicly, manipulating the memory of his life into a false image that justified this state violence. This documentary not only reclaims Philly’s memory but highlights the important collaboration between local BLM activists and the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) to find justice. Our documentary process will support Philly’s family and highlights a solidarity between the movements that continue their fight.