RMIT Digital Art and Design Grant brings Vietnamese identity exploration to life at VFCD 2024

Recipients Hachul Lệ Đổ and Vũ Diệu Hương presented ‘Into The Well’ (Nhìn Lên Đáy Giếng), a duo exhibition held at The Outpost Art Organisation in Hanoi from 20 November to 30 December 2024.

Funded through the grant, the exhibition featured two ambitious digital artworks. Hachul Lệ Đổ’s ‘The Tale of Trần Thanh Dương’ drew on Vietnamese folklore and traditional tuồng opera to tell the story of a character who exists beyond gender binaries—set in a world where men are fish and women are shrimp.

The animated short film has since been selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025, making it the first Vietnamese film to screen at the prestigious event since 1997 and only the second in the festival’s history. Vũ Diệu Hương’s ‘Field of Innocence’ employed motion capture technology to animate virtual characters—a bear and a girl—exploring themes of femininity, childhood, and the tension between innocence and experience.

The exhibition received strong praise from the arts community. Lê Thuận Uyên, Artistic Director of The Outpost, noted that the two artists transformed the gallery’s typically austere atmosphere into something vibrant and refreshingly different. Assoc. Prof. Donna Cleveland, representing RMIT Vietnam, also expressed her admiration at the opening ceremony. 

‘Into The Well’ demonstrates how targeted institutional support can amplify the voices of young Vietnamese artists on a national stage. Through the RMIT Digital Art and Design Grant, both Hachul and Diệu Hương were able to push the boundaries of digital art practice in Vietnam—merging technology, performance, and cultural storytelling in ways that resonated well beyond the gallery walls.