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Symposium 2: Infrastructure and community building as a curatorial practice
Panelists: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai, Lê Thuận Uyên, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn
Moderator: Xuân Hạ
In an environment that is known for its lacks such as government funding, educational system, resources and manpower, artists in Vietnam have found themselves assuming the double roles of artist-curators. They are connectors who gather practitioners together, and in turn they form different kinds of collectives and artist groups — with or without physical spaces — to respond effectively and urgently to the aforementioned shortcomings, most visibly in the form of community gathering. With an increasing participation of the private investors, such efforts have expanded into the building of large-scaled, better-equipped art spaces, capacity-building initiatives or historically important private museums. The question arises that such efforts can also be considered a curatorial work.
A personal observation on the autonomous nature of art spaces in Huế
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai
As a visual artist who began working in Hue in the late 2000s, I recognize the significance of infrastructure resources, particularly art spaces. These spaces serve as hubs for gatherings, discussions, critiques, exhibitions, experiments, and debates, nurturing diverse forms of thought and creativity. So, what kind of space model best caters to the needs and unique characteristics of a locality, or Hue in particular? From the perspective of a lecturer at Hue University of Fine Arts, I will share my personal experience navigating through various models of art space: from the art bar Mơ Đơ (2019-2020) to a public space in the Bờ Thành Project (2021-2022), and a self-initiated educational space within the public institutional system (2023-2024). The paper will analyze the distinctive features, advantages, and challenges inherent in each space model. Subsequently, it will offer insights into pressing issues in Hue, and propose possible efforts to tackle them. This paper will also consider the Nổ Cái Bùm festival in Huế (2020) as a suggestion for a way of gathering local resources, facilitating dialogues between parties and provincial connectivity; and creating long-term impacts on the Vietnamese art scene in the post-Covid era.
The Varying Prisms of Infrastructure
Lê Thuận Uyên
When thinking about infrastructure, many people often envision complex networks of physical facilities, trained expertise, and financial resources to support the processes of art creation, exhibition, and discussion. Starting out with predominantly curating for exhibition projects, over time, I have come to realize that my colleagues and I are wearing more hats than before. We curate, conduct research, write, translate, teach, consult collectors, build and manage art spaces. Nurturing an art ecosystem requires more than a single agent’s effort, and no one can cover all fronts, so what defines the parameters of my curatorial practice?
After attempting projects of diverse scales, I gradually recognized that my need for infrastructure building, in reality, always revolved around artists and art practitioners. And thus, it contracts and expands in tandem with the desire to develop my curatorial practice. My positioning of infrastructure originated from the need to fill in the gaps in historical data and local perspectives for individuals/events that were only recorded by foreign observers; to the establishment of a space where reflection on curatorial work is echoed and expanded at the same time; and finally, the need to practice exhibition-making on a larger scale (in terms of space, equipment, artwork scale, and audience). Drawing from experiences garnered through projects like Gang of Five Chancing Modern (2016-2018), the Curatorial Xà Quần’s Instagram account, and the creation of The Outpost Art Organisation, I will elaborate further on this perspective.
Adversity and Asymmetry: the development of curatorial practice through the transition between different institutions and social contexts
Nguyễn Anh Tuấn
This paper is an autobiographical account of the author’s process as he transitioned from one socio-political environment to another in search of conditions and spaces for his personal development: from when he worked for a state-run institutional system at the Fine Arts Institute (2003 – 2015), which provided profound insights into the operation of this system and its efficiency; to the period of exploring and developing personal projects and transitioning to independent work since early 2016 – a process of self-generating conditions and opportunities for the pursuit of art and resources to nurture and transform ideas into tangible forms.
From there, the author aims to present a personal approach and discuss the curator’s role as a construction that is informed by elements such as infrastructure, material, human resources, and domestic and international connections to create an environment that nurtures, supports, and materializes artistic practices in response to the context of our times and social space along a linear timeline. Simultaneously, this paper also serves as a self-reflection and assessment of the current conditions for curatorial practice within the local context that is filled with gaps, ruptures, and paradoxes, and within the asymmetrical exchange relation with regional and international art scenes.
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai is a visual artist and lecturer at Huế University of Arts. After co-founding Mơ Đơ Space (2019) and “Nổ Cái Bùm Art Week in Huế” (2020), she worked in different positions such as regional representative of Mekong Cultural Hub (2021-2022), founder of “Bờ Thành Project” (2021-2022), and organizer of several small local cultural and artistic events. She is interested in gathering resources and creating space for local connection and creativity within her means.
Lê Thuận Uyên is a curator based in Hanoi. She is currently the Artistic Director of The Outpost – – a Hanoi-based organisation dedicated to the collection, presentation of and audience generation for contemporary art in Vietnam. Informed by her former training in political science, Uyen is interested in alternative histories, personal narratives that are rendered absent, sidelined or undesirable by the official record. Her practice investigates formal articulations that are rooted in the social context and aesthetic traditions of Vietnam. She often works with artists in close collaboration, seeking to unpack artistic articulations and stimulate critical, creative enquiries.
Some of her past curatorial projects include: “Fractured Times” (The Outpost, Hanoi, 2022); “And they die another death” (Nguyen Trinh Thi for Documenta fifteen, 2022); “Domestic Bliss” (Ilham Gallery, KL, 2019); “Gang of Five Chancing Modern” (Hanoi, 2017); “Sindikat Campursari” (Jakarta, 2016); Embedded South(s) (co-curator, Sàn Art, online, 2016); “Skylines With Flying People 3” (co-curator, Hanoi, 2015-17); “Miền Méo Miệng” (assistant curator, Bildmuseet Umea, 2015);… She was a resident curator at Art in General (NYC) from April–August 2017 through a fellowship with the Asian Cultural Council. Over time, Uyên has worked with numerous artists and orgranisations, providing administrative and programming support for spaces including Nhà Sàn Collective, Sàn Art, The Factory Centre for Contemporary Art, APD (Centre for Art Patronage and Development), The Nguyen Art Foundation.
Nguyễn Anh Tuấn is a curator and art manager based in Hanoi, Vietnam. After earning his degree in Art History and Theory from Hanoi University of Fine Arts, which is now the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Tuấn worked at the Institute of Fine Arts’ Research Department of Ancient Fine Arts until 2015. Tuấn began working as the Artistic Director of Heritage Space, an independent art organization in Hanoi, at the beginning of 2016.
As artistic director of Heritage Space since 2016, Tuan strives to maintain the annual “Month of Arts Practice” (MAP) program as a laboratory for artistic ideas and an international exchange platform. MAP is operated regularly every year during the three months of autumn and winter, offering a variety of opportunities for experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, exchanging knowledge and practices, nurturing creativity, and connecting the artist community with diverse social conditions and circumstances. Since 2015, MAP has been running steadily, constantly, and without any breaks.
Interested in preserving knowledge and building infrastructure for art development, Tuấn and Heritage Space developed the project “Vietnam Contemporary Arts Database” (VCAD), an online archive platform for Vietnamese contemporary art from 2020. Given Vietnam’s dearth of contemporary art archives, the project offers a free and accessible reference resource as well as an open information system capable of connecting and collaborating with many artists and scholars.
Nguyễn Anh Tuấn is a founding member of “Vietnam Creative Hubs Initiatives” – a network of Vietnamese creative hubs – and is also a regional representative in Vietnam (Local Hub) of Mekong Cultural Hubs – a network of cultural spaces in Mekong subregion countries and Taiwan.
Nguyen Anh Tuan and Heritage Space have received support from the Goethe Institute, the British Council, the Japanese Cultural Center in Vietnam, the Japan Asia Center, the International Relief Funds initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Goethe Institute with partners, IFA Institute of International Relations (Germany), House of World Cultures (HKW, Germany), Korea Foundation (Korea), Korean Cultural Center, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, artlink.ch (South Cultural Fund – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), Danish Embassy in Vietnam and many other organizations.
Xuân Hạ is a self-taught artist and community-engaged art practitioner who currently lives and works in Đà Nẵng. Over the recent years, her projects have revolved around the socio-cultural changes in her hometown in the central region of Vietnam. Through various experimentations with materials, space, and social interaction, Xuân Hạ interprets the visual structure of her own narratives using a vast array of different artistic representations such as painting, video, sculpture, installation, and conceptual art.
With a multifaceted approach, Xuân Hạ actively contributes to the growth and enrichment of the local art community. Serving as co-founder and manager of the collective groups Chaosdowntown Chao (Saigon, 2015-2019) and A Sông (Đà Nẵng, 2019-present), she fosters a safe and inclusive environment that encourages artistic practice and self-study through various art education initiatives.
In 2022, she was selected to participate in the Future Leadership program organized by The Australian Council for the Arts in Australia. Xuân Hạ’s works have been showcased both domestically and internationally in spaces such as San Art and Nguyen Art Foundation in Vietnam, National Gallery Singapore, Kyoto University in Japan, ESOK Jakarta Biennale in Indonesia, and Kunst(Zeug)Haus in Switzerland. Residency programs she has participated in include Kunststiftung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany (2023); Solo Marathon, Asia Space, Hanoi (2020), FUTUR Foundation, Switzerland (2019), ACC Arts Space Network, Gwangju, Korea (2018), and FAMLAB program organized by the British Council (2018).
EVENT INFORMATION:
- Time: 09:00 – 18:30, Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14, 2024
- Location: Contemporary Art Center – Vietnamese Fine Arts Assocation, 621 Đê La Thành, Hanoi
- Please note that attendees are required to register in advance. To participate, please register via the following link:
The First Conference on Curating in Vietnam*
Initiated and Organized by: Á Space
Co-organized by: School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts – Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-SIS)
Diamond Sponsor: Dogma Collection
Gold Sponsor: Nguyen Art Foundation
Media Partner: Art Republik
With support from The Outpost Art Organisation
*Part of VINACURA, a project co-initiated and co-conceived by Á Space, Nguyen Art Foundation, and The Outpost Art Organisation