The award ceremony of the 5th Hanoi Grapevine's Finest and the opening of the art exhibition The Grapevine Selection have been held at Heritage House No.49 Tran Hung Dao.

The award ceremony of Hanoi Grapevine's Finest 2023-2024. Photo: Truong Thanh

In addition to the six usual categories, this year's award featured for the first time the Inclusion Award, co-initiated by the Goethe-Institut Hanoi to foster artistic cooperation between people with visible and invisible disabilities and able-bodied people.

The winners of the Finest Projects category are Architecture Excursions and The Art of the Piano. Meanwhile, the Finest Artists award goes to artists Ly Trang, Nguyen Vu Hai, and documentary filmmaker Ha Le Diem, and the Finest Reviews award goes to Chu Pham Hoai Thu for the review essay "Art Wants to Be Understood, But Not Immediately."

In the Inclusion Award category, the Goethe-Institut Hanoi and Hanoi Grapevine's Finest selected artists Tran Thao Mien and Linh Valerie Pham to present the honor.

Linh founded the Mat Tran Ensemble as a commitment to inclusion and accessibility in the arts. In 2022, she co-directed Eye See Ai (ESA) - a research project in collaboration with neurodivergent artists from Vietnam and Wales.

Meanwhile, Mien worked on the project Sign Chorus as an art installation developed in collaboration with the teachers and students of the Central Deaf Services. This multimedia work aims to represent communities where non-verbal expression is the dominant form of communication.

An artwork by artist Huy Phan.

Winners will receive funding to explore new approaches to inclusive art practices in an activity initiated and completed within 2024. The final results will be presented at the Goethe-Institut.

In addition, the best contemporary artworks of The Grapevine Selection will be on display at Heritage House No. 49 Quang Trung Street until May 30.  

The exhibition features the latest prominent works with distinctive artistic styles created by local artists, including Huy Phan, Le Thua Tien, Lam Na, and many others. It offers a universal yet rich and multifaceted view of contemporary Vietnamese art.

Founded in 2007, Hanoi Grapevine is an independent, non-profit online platform that aims to support the Vietnamese art scene by connecting local artists, art spaces, and quality event organizers with their audiences. It is also recognized by the British Council in Vietnam as a pioneering virtual creative hub. 

Starting in 2019, Hanoi Grapevine's Finest has become an annual event celebrating contemporary art in Vietnam, initiated by Hanoi Grapevine and the Proactive Audience Network (PAN). The event aims to recognize individuals, organizations, projects, and other activities in the field of creative arts whose incredible efforts have built an open, diverse, and pioneering arts and culture scene, contributing to the public's cultural and artistic awareness and appreciation, enabling individuals to connect with themselves and the community, and thus improving the quality of life.