<div><p>Anh Ly is a Philadelphia-based, Vietnamese multidisciplinary artist. Her works are often concept-driven and inspired by nature, everyday life, Vietnamese heritage, motherhood, cultural intersections, Vietnam war stories and social justice issues. They may manifest into paintings, sculptures, home décor objects, and murals. </p><p>Prior to pursuing visual arts, for almost eight years combined, Anh dedicated her focus to the Trust and Safety teams of Facebook and Upwork, primarily to address online child sexual exploitation issues. In August 2022, Anh left this career chapter to pursue studying BFA full-time at the University of the Arts, which sadly closed suddenly in June 2024. Anh has since chosen to chart her own creative path by learning hands on, from the local artist communities and in her various jobs. After the summer 2023 internship with Mural Arts Philadelphia, Anh is now working with the same organization as an Assistant Artist; recent projects that she assisted in painting and/or installing include the Manayunk Industrial Lights mural with Phillip Adams, the Phillies' Dick Allen mural with Ernel Martinez and the Oval ground mural with Felix St. Fort. Anh also designs her own murals for commercial clients and non-profit organizations. She was recently commissioned by the Manayunk Development Corporation to design and install five panels of mural outside of a soon coming coffee shop on Main Street in Manayunk, which led her to now create a monthly chalkboard artwork for the newly completed apartment complex Roe Manayunk. Additionally, Anh continues her studio practice, prototypes wooden lanterns and sells her artworks while working on child safety escalations for Niantic Labs in tandem. </p><p>Anh's artworks that were made during the first two years of career transition have received awards, group exhibition selections and print selections at both local and national level, including the Philadelphia City Hall, University of Pennsylvania's Charles Addams Fine Art Gallery, University of the Arts Galleries, Creative Quarterly journal, Underground Pool, and Grid Magazine. </p></div>
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It’s never too late to follow one’s calling and even better when such calling also serves a greater cause. For eight years in various Trust and Safety functions at Facebook and Upwork, my job was to investigate egregious online child sexual exploitation. I saw the cycle and evolution of pain that no kids and families should endure. Occasionally, my work led to urgent calls to law enforcement about teens who threatened to commit suicide. Case after case, it made me wonder how I could help others by creating or enabling the good instead of removing the harm. I want those children to know they matter, they are loved, they are not alone and it wasn't their fault. Beyond using art as a resilience practice, I want to learn how to “paint the picture” of hope and possibility for people who need to know it the most. How can art prevent harm through education or talk about taboo or difficult topics? How may it honor other people and their stories in the most captivating yet empathetic way? What visuals would spark others into action? Because there is no one right answer, my art practice is exploratory, searching for meaning and answers to these questions.
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