Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design 2022 opens in Hanoi

The festival opening in Hanoi took place on 7 November in COMPLEX 01, a popular creative space that will act as the host venue for the festival activities in the capital city.

VFCD 2022 is organised by RMIT University Vietnam in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS), COLAB Vietnam and other partners in the creative industries, with Hanoi Grapevine as the media partner and organisational advisor.

Under the theme CHANGE: Creativity Challenge, VFCD takes place in two hubs in Vietnam’s two biggest cities:

• Hanoi: from 7 to 13 November 2022 at COMPLEX 01, No. 29 Lane 31 Alley 167 Tay Son Street, Dong Da District
• Ho Chi Minh City: from 18 to 24 November 2022 at De La Sól, 244 Pasteur Street, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3

The program includes exhibitions, talks, workshops, cultural exploration tours, and several online activities. Most events do not require entrance fees. Together they create an open and interactive platform for creative individuals and organisations to engage with an extended audience offline and online.

In Hanoi, the festival features two exhibitions – a showcase of outcomes from the Creativity Challenge 2022 and the “In the House, on the Street” exhibition by the first cohort of Design Studies students from RMIT’s Hanoi campus.

The festival program in the capital city further includes a Hanoi Old Quarter exploration walk as well as public talks which will discuss the practice of different creative and cultural industries.

Professor Julia Gaimster, Dean of School of Communication & Design at RMIT Vietnam and the head of the festival organising board, said:

“Over the last two years we have all faced unprecedented challenges but through this adversity we have also found resilience and energy. We have encountered circumstances that have demanded that we think differently, act differently and change our view of the world.

“Through this festival, we are offering challenging and creative activities to inspire people and to enable a deeper understanding of the role of creativity and design in society – how it improves lives and supports economic development.”

Mr Christian Manhart, UNESCO Representative to Viet Nam, added: “‘Change’ is the challenge in the post-COVID-19 crisis for all and artists and designers in particular. We have seen severe negative impacts on cultural and creative industries. We need to recover better and should see the change also as opportunity. It is time to adapt! That is our message with the theme of ‘CHANGE: Creativity Challenge’.”

A growing legacy after three years

Initiated in 2019 by RMIT University Vietnam, VFCD has contributed to driving partnerships and projects among organisations and individuals in the cultural-creative sector in Vietnam over the past three years.

By organising a series of creative activities that are open to all, VFCD is a catalyst to support the strategic objectives of the National Strategy for the Development of Cultural Industries in Vietnam.

At the same time, the festival supports the formation of a “creative belt” across the country through the eventual expansion of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in Viet Nam.

For more information, visit the festival’s digital channels:

• Website: https://vfcd.events/en   
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vfcd.events  
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vfcd.events
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/VietnamFestivalofCreativityDesign
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/vfcd_events  

Story: Ngoc Hoang