SECTION 3: THE EXPECTATION OF THE CREATIVE HUBS NETWORK
Although there haven’t been specific supports or incentive policies for creative hubs in the country, the number of creative hubs have increased year by year.
This increase shows the dynamism of creative hubs as well as the increasingly diverse need for learning and enjoying the arts. However, if the hubs just operate individually, they will not be sustainable. In this context, we need to find solutions to create the connection and support within creative hubs so that they can make strength and long-term development?
Individual development and lack of connection
Speaking of creative hubs in Hanoi, many people will think of Heritage Space. Founded in 2014, Heritage Space was located inside the Dolphin Plaza building with an area of nearly 1,000 square meters. It had a full range of galleries, libraries, and could organize big art events.
At Heritage Space, the audience can enjoy music, multimedia exhibitions with the most innovative artworks of contemporary art of Vietnam and other countries. However, after 6 years of development, Heritage Space now downsizes to an area of about 70m2 in the Center for Contemporary Art Development and Support under the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan – Artistic Director of Heritage Space said that for the first 5 years, Heritage space had been sponsored by Dolphin Plaza and TID Group; therefore, It had had very good facilities to organize the music events, movie screenings, chat with artists, large-scale exhibitions.
After 5 years, it seems that sponsoring art space is quite challenging. They sponsor but have not received any incentives. Contemporary art is like a risky investment, and Heritage Space cannot generate profits. “When Heritage Space moved to Vicas, we had only a small office and a small library. Anytime we organize an event or exhibition that requires a large space, we will connect with other hubs in the creative network in Hanoi, ”said Nguyen Anh Tuan.
What happened to Heritage Space is also true of the other hubs in Vietnam. When sponsored by individuals with strong financial potential or cultural organizations such as L’Espace, Goethe, the British Council, or the Ford Foundation, the creative hubs will flourish. However, at present, very few hubs are sponsored by individuals and large corporations. Most creative hubs today are small in scale, spontaneous, lack of support, lack of management ability.
Besides, the hubs that pursue contemporary art, are picky about the audience. According to Ms. Tram Vu, founder of Manzi Art Space in Hanoi, small spaces that lack cohesion and support will be even more difficult, “The artistic community in Vietnam is still working individually. We had to exist independently and without any legal and financial support from the state. Creative hubs are often founded by art lovers or by artists. There haven’t been any system for these special spaces yet”, Ms. Tram Vu concerned.
A musical performance at Heritage space (Source Heritage space).
| “The creative hubs network opens up opportunities for spaces like Zó to connect people with similar creative passions. Then, we can work together to develop”, Ms. Le Hong Ky – a member of the Zó Project conserving and developing dó paper. |
The creative network multiplied in power
In the world, many creative hubs cooperate to provide a complete product chain as well as to carry out large-scale projects. However, in our country, there hasn’t been any association between creative hubs for many years, which limits the development of creative hubs. It is time to have a connection between creative hubs.
That is also the reason for the Vietnam Creative Hub Network(Vichi) being born late last year. Sharing about this network, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha – Head of Management Board of VICAS Arts studio – one of the founders of Vietnam Creative Hub Network said that the network consists of 6 creative hubs, mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The idea of the establishment came from the need for a support network to connect creative hubs. It’s time for creative hubs to go together. It’s time for creative hubs to go together.
| “We will also work with state agencies. The network will provide policy advice to authorities. Hopefully, this network can support young spaces to connect with creative artists, partners, or sponsor – Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, one of the founders of Vichi Network – the founders and managers of creative hubs. |
The network will help creative hubs connect to exploit each other’s strengths and complement their shortcomings, and will become the official voice of creative hubs in Vietnam. It will connect artists to the authorities so that they better understand the achievements and know the challenges that artists and creative hubs are facing. After that, the State management agencies will have proper legal support and good financial mechanism to facilitate the creative hubs. “We have a plan for the next 2 years to do the following tasks. First, focus on updating the map of cultural creative spaces in Vietnam, the achievements, the difficulties and the resources we are having. Second, developing the website to be the foundation for creative hubs to connect on online platforms. They can find investors, resources, seek opportunities for collaboration and development ”- Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha hopes.
The growth of creative hubs is inevitable in the integration era. As a new profession, the creative hub only attracts the participation of artists and art-lovers. So the existence and development of these hubs depend a lot on the financial situation, management ability as well as the passion and enthusiasm of the founders and executives.
Therefore, to encourage new and valuable things to the community to be born, it is necessary to have an open view of the position and the importance of creative hubs. Hopefully, in the coming time, the policy-making agencies as well as the local authorities will have the appropriate mechanisms and the special policies to promote the development of creative hubs, which will contribute to diversifying the creativity picture of our country.
| “This is the right time to set up a network of cultural creative spaces. We have creative models everywhere but we don’t have an organization to coordinate and create a common voice. We need to make a tight association”, Architect Nguyen Tuan Anh, founder of AgoHub. |
By VOV6