VFCD 2021 explores the creative future of Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Festival of Creativity and Design (VFCD), which ended on November 21, created an open, timely, and interactive platform for creative individuals and organizations engaging with thousands of people online.

In its third year, the two-week event was organized by RMIT University Vietnam in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Vietnam Institute of Cultural and Arts Studies (VICAS), and COLAB Vietnam.

Under the theme, “Creative Future”, this year’s program included talks, workshops, exhibitions, podcast series, contests, and various online activities and discussions about the vision, trends, cultural identity, and future opportunities for the creative industries in Vietnam.

According to Professor Julia Gaimster, Dean of School of Communication and Design at RMIT University, the creative industries are facing new challenges – the post-COVID-19 world won’t be the same and people need to think about what the ‘new normal’ might be. Therefore we need creative thinkers and innovators to find these solutions. Hence, the festival aims to be a forum where some of these challenges can be discussed and possible solutions can be identified.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Deputy Director of VICAS, said this year’s festival created an even stronger impact on promoting creativity among the youth and micro, small and medium-sized organizations, which are inherently the protagonists of the core values and inspirations that drive creativity.

Hanoi becomes more attractive thanks to new creative space (Photo: VNA)

Building on last year’s momentum, VFCD 2021 can be experienced almost entirely online via the festival’s social media channels and other digital platforms. Most of the events are available in both Vietnamese and English, and do not require entrance fees.

Similar to the previous years, the 2021 programme features multiple activities led by other partners. This year’s line-up of around 20 collaborators includes The Big Draw (an international initiative to promote the value of drawing), the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, the Contemporary Art and Social Transformation research group (CAST), Vietcraft, Work Room Four, and the Vietnam Design Week, among others.

An activity that will run throughout the duration of the festival is the digital collaborative art campaign Tomorrow  held in association with Behalf Studio – the creative adviser of VFCD 2021. This project welcomes the public to submit their own photo on Instagram with hashtags and receive a bespoke design generated from the photo. The designs will then be added to a bigger mosaic-style artwork that grows over time on VFCD’s official website.

As the initiator of the festival, RMIT University Vietnam is spearheading around 10 events, including a forum on art and design archive in Viet Nam, an ‘edit-a-thon’ to increase the quality of content on Wikipedia about Vietnamese art and culture, workshops on sustainable fashion and drawing, etc.

Culture Program Coordinator of the UNESCO Hanoi Office Pham Thi Thanh Huong believes that VFCD has been successful in “connecting the dots” between stakeholders in the cultural-creative sector over the past two years, and has high hopes for the programme this year as well.

“I expect this year’s VFCD to continue engaging an even more diverse community thanks to the combined talents of all the participants, especially the young people with their digital communication acumen and creativity,” Ms Huong said.

Echoing this sentiment, international artist-educator and COLAB Vietnam founder Thanh Bui highlighted that the future is in the hands of the creatives. This is also the inspiration behind the six-part workshop series hosted by COLAB Vietnam during VFCD 2021 titled CREATIVITY, OPEN & UP!

“It doesn’t matter what company you work for – whether it’s in finance, education, or logistics – if you are creative and able to ignite ideas, you will be successful and be the leaders. So please join us and create this incredible community of Vietnamese creatives, so that we can truly connect with the world and bring our products and our culture to the world,” Mr Thanh Bui said.