This month of March, The Factory turns 5! We celebrate with four exhibitions that deepens our commitment to increasing the awareness of artistic labor towards understanding contemporary life. Taking place in Saigon, Chiang Mai and Guangzhou, showcasing art from Yogyakarta, Bangkok, Saigon, Hoi An, Hanoi, New York, these projects demonstrate our desire to learn via collaboration. This ethos of partnership is the backbone of The Factory’s programs, whose strategic partners, supporters and sponsors acknowledge the tremendous creative talent in our various communities, and the urgency we face in our need to nurture, guide and promote their relevance. 

Despite the fact we turn 5 in a year under the duress of a global pandemic, and the fact our artistic landscape in Vietnam continues to suffer a great lack of support and recognition, we have not allowed this to impact our commitment to artists and their ideas. Culture and its contemporary practices deserve space with which to experiment. Most importantly, the stories of artists and the imaginative way that they explore their realities deserves to be publicly celebrated. So we continue to build on lessons learnt, acknowledging how lucky we are to have each other as a team (both current and past members), thankful for the camaraderie and generosity of the innumerable minds (both near and far), who have worked with us, made art with us, lent time and advice to our desire to critically engage with methods and topics that matter, having realized over 46 exhibitions, countless public programs, continuing to plug 4 ongoing research projects. 

On behalf of our founder Tia-Thủy Nguyễn, and all of us at The Factory, we say thank you. Looking beyond this birthday month, in 2021 we will present the work of Lê Giang, Lê Thừa Tiến, Tuyền Nguyễn, Nguyễn Hải Đăng and more, in addition to soon launching our first ‘Artist Excellence Award’.

We look forward to your continued support, excited for what’s ahead!

Zoe Butt

Artistic Director