The Vietnam Festival of Media & Design: Hanoi 2019 was officially launched on November 1 to celebrate the city’s creativity and culture.

The festival was supported by RMIT University, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Vietnam the National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS).

(From left) Mr Michael Croft (Head of UNESCO Hanoi Office in Vietnam), Dr Pham Lan Oanh (Deputy Director of Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies), Mr Hoang Quoc Viet (Representative of Hanoi Party Committee’s Commission for Propaganda and Education), and Professor Rick Bennett (RMIT Vietnam Vice-President Academic and Head of School of Communication & Design) are cutting the ribbon to officially mark the beginning of Vietnam Festival of Media & Design: Hanoi 2019. Photo: RMIT

From November 1 to 17, Hanoi locals and tourists can attend and engage with a series of creative activities within exhibitions, workshops, industry talks and social media through the Vietnam Festival of Media & Design.

The festival will kick off with two creative exhibitions at the VICAS Studio - NEXUS and Tòhe evolution – organized and curated by RMIT and the University’s student club Current Media.

Visitors expressed their interest in the brief history of tò he, uniquely shown via the 6-metre long artisanal parade crafted by local artist Dang Van Hau and Toheviet team. Photo: RMIT

NEXUS is a fashion and architectural photographic exhibition created by RMIT academics in collaboration with Vietnamese architects and fashion designers.  NEXUS brings together contemporary architecture and fashion design and connects them directly in a photo series.

In Tòhe evolution, the idea of timeless art and limitless creativity is uniquely expressed through the symbolism of tò he through films, a 3D model, Hanoi’s creative map co-creation, and a 6-meter long artisanal parade crafted by local artist Dang Van Hau and Toheviet team.

The festival will host a variety of workshops in which art lovers can spend time having fun and being an artist for a day.

RMIT Vietnam Vice-President Academic and Head of School of Communication & Design Rick Bennett said the timing of the festival is perfect on many levels, including RMIT’s 20 years of collaboration in Vietnam, Vietnam’s appointment as ASEAN Chair in 2020, and Hanoi being awarded the status of Creative City for Design and becoming a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Professor Rick Bennett shared about RMIT Vietnam’s commitment to the ongoing creative development of Hanoi, including an expansion of our RMIT Hanoi campus to become an integral part of the urban fabric of Hanoi. Photo: RMIT

“RMIT is wholeheartedly dedicated to the ongoing creative development of Hanoi, including an expansion of our own RMIT campus,” Professor Bennett said. “We are totally committed to becoming an integral part of the urban fabric of this Hanoi and have some amazing ideas of how to do that.”

Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies Pham Lan Oanh emphasized the festival’s alignment with the national strategy to raise community and societal awareness of creative activities and education in Vietnam, and to train and improve the quality of human resources in the cultural industry.