Creative Lab by UP – the latest creative centre at the Hanoi Creative City Building.

The session will present two reports commissioned by the British Council in support of the development of creative centers in Vietnam.
The first report is Creative Hubs: Experience from Europe, Lessons for Vietnam, 2016 by Professor Andy Pratt from City University London, with the second the Review of Regulatory Framework for Creative Hubs in Vietnam, 2017, conducted by the Viet Nam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.
The event will feature presentations by three creative centers, the Creative Lab by UP in Hanoi, the Da Nang Business Incubator (DNES) in Da Nang and Toa Tau in Ho Chi Minh City. There will also be a discussion on the role of creative centers in developing the creative economy.
The discussion will be facilitated by Hanoi Grapevine with panel members from the creative center community, the British Council, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.
Hanoi Grapevine, a long-running online center is an independent and not-for-profit online platform that aims to support the Vietnamese art scene by connecting local artists and art spaces with their audience.
In 2014, the platform was identified by the British Council as a pioneering virtual creative center in Vietnam. Vietnam’s first National Strategy for the Development of Cultural Industries to 2020, Vision 2030 was ratified by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in September 2016.
The strategy outlines goals for developing cultural industries in Viet Nam, which is hoped to account for three per cent of GDP in 2020 and seven per cent in 2030. For some sectors, high revenue targets are set for 2030 including US$3.2 billion for the advertising industry, $250 million for the film industry and $125 million for fine arts.
The report launching and discussion both by invitation and free for the public and will take place from 2 pm to 5 pm at Hanoi Creative City Building, No1 Luong Yen Street.
Hanoi Creative City building stands out from afar thanks to its large dragon and feathers tattoos created by German graffiti artist Julian Vogel, who was sponsored by Goethe Institut to come to Hanoi in April 2015 for the Sound Stuff Festival.
Coming closer there is a remarkable red staircase leading up to the 6th floor. In front of the building, there is a playing ground decorated with graffitied containers where live music performances take place or street sport activities happen. There is also a Cong Cafe at the corner facing a bar called “Bia Khu 9” (meaning Zone 9 Beer).
The most creative part of the whole complex so far is Nha San Collective located on the 15th floor, but there was be more with plans for an art center on 5th floor managed by artist Trinh Minh Tien and the Tet Art’s team as well as a bar on top floor by composer Quoc Trung and the Monsoon Music Festival’s team. The Vietnam Creative Entrepreneur Club (VCE) has also moved their office to Hanoi Creative City to support the project.