Vu Dan Tan Museum Residency programme

Introduction

Vu Dan Tan Museum is dedicated to the preservation, research, documentation, and exhibition of works by the trailblazer of contemporary Vietnamese art, Vu Dan Tan (1946 – 2009). Founded in 2025, the Vu Dan Tan Museum showcases the artist's four-decade oeuvre via exhibitions, publications, and educational initiatives. The Museum also fosters understanding of contemporary Vietnamese art among the broader community, including both Hanoi residents and visitors.

The Vu Dan Tan Museum Residency programme welcomes artists and researchers of diverse backgrounds, offering access to resources that enhance their knowledge and experience while expanding their professional international network. This residency encourages collaboration between artists/researchers and our institution, supporting the initiatives and experiments of our residents, along with their involvement in local communities.

Two in-house professional curators, Museum Executive Director Natalia Kraevskaia, and Museum Head Curatorial and Exhibitions Iola Lenzi support the Residencies in various capacities.

The Residency is open to all applicants, but may be especially suited to the needs of recently-graduated, early-career artists and researchers interested in working and exhibiting in an internationally-recognised museum. This privileged setting offers the dynamic and professional mentoring of in-house curators, and intellectual exchange opportunities that only non-commercial, research-focused environments can provide.

Opportunities

Resident artists collaborate with our local and international curators on their proposed projects as well as draw inspiration from a fresh artistic setting for a new creative pursuit. Throughout their residency they will have access to a studio space, receive professional guidance, and, if work is produced, present it to the public through a short-term exhibition or open studio event, complete with a vernissage at the Museum. There is no production obligation however, and artists are free to use their Residency time as they wish.

Researchers will have access to the extensive Museum archives; they will be guided to additional sources of information and if they wish, can conclude their residency by presenting their work through a public talk, seminar, or lecture organised at the Museum.

Residents from both categories will have the opportunity to explore Hanoi and immerse themselves in the local art scene. We will facilitate introductions to art venues, galleries, various cultural organisations, and artists' studios, in addition to providing details about art events happening in the city. Our expertise and extensive network will aid residents in adjusting to a new cultural environment, while our flexible programming will create a conducive atmosphere for the successful execution of their projects.

At the conclusion of the residency period, the work of the artist or researcher will be promoted on our social media platforms, including the Museum's website, thereby gaining international visibility.

Practical Information

We offer self-funded residencies, paid for by the artist or researcher.

The residency takes place at the Vu Dan Tan Museum, located in the ancient and picturesque Long Bien district of Hanoi, an area just across the Red river from Hanoi’s French quarter. The river-bank neighborhood is home to artists, their studios, and numerous local cafes where single origin coffee and authentic home-style Vietnamese cuisine can be enjoyed. The museum, a three-story modernist building designed by leading Vietnamese architect Hoang Le, is set in an elegant Japanese-type garden. The resident is housed in a comfortably furnished, air-conditioned and wi-fi connected living space that includes a private bedroom, a shared, fully equipped kitchen, and a shower-room with a washing machine. The space is located at the rear of the museum, accessible through a small garden that it overlooks. Housekeeping services are provided once a week. Artists will also have access to a working studio. Residents are required to bring their own computer or any other materials necessary for their work.

Duration period: Short term projects, 2-4 weeks
Language spoken: English, Vietnamese, French

Paid residencies:

Artist residencies: 1500 USD per month (studio, bedroom, living-room/kitchen)
Research residencies: 1200 USD per month (bedroom, living-room/kitchen)
Sharing with partner: extra 400 USD per month (your partner sharing the room with you)

The residency fee does not cover travel, international or local; visa; medical insurance; art materials; food or other personal living expenses. Non-Vietnamese residents must purchase medical insurance in their country of residence to cover the duration of their stay as the Residency will not be responsible for any medical expenses of the Resident.

Upon your acceptance into the residency program, a deposit of 50% of the total residency fee is required. Confirmation of your residency will be issued once the deposit is received. The remaining 50% must be settled on arrival. House rules will be provided to you following your acceptance into the residency. Selected candidates will receive an invitation letter detailing the specific conditions of their residency, which can be utilised to pursue additional funding from both national and international institutions.

The deposit is fully refundable if you cancel at least 2 weeks before your scheduled arrival date, or in extraordinary circumstances; otherwise, a cancellation fee of 50% of the total residency fee will apply.

Application

Artists and researchers can submit their applications any time due to our rolling application process. Self-funded artists have a flexible residency duration, usually with a maximum stay of 4 weeks. The application must be sent via e-mail: info@vudantanmuseum.org and include the following information:

CV
Specification of desired time and length of residency
Portfolio in PDF format
Artist Statement (up to 1 page) detailing your creative practice and vision
Cover letter / residency proposal providing a comprehensive description of your Residency project (maximum 500 words).

INQUIRE

Information on our curators / supervisors of residency programs:

Iola Lenzi

Iola Lenzi, PhD is a Singapore historian, curator, and educator of contemporary Asian art. She teaches Contemporary Curating at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and has solo or lead-curated and published some 45 exhibitions in Asia and Europe including the influential Negotiating Home, History and Nation, Singapore Art Museum, 2011, traveling Concept, Context, Contestation, BACC Bangkok, 2013-2019, and The Roving Eye, ARTER, Istanbul, 2014-2015. She has edited multiple exhibition research publications and is the author of Museums of Southeast Asia (2004). Her most recent books are Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970 (Lund Humphries, 2024), and Vũ Dân Tân Citizen of the World-Forging Contemporary Art in 1990s Hà Nôi (Hanoi, Fine Art Publishing House, 2025).

Natalia Kraevskaia

Natalia Kraevskaia, PhD (the artist’s widow), is the Executive Director of the Vu Dan Tan Museum. She was previously an Associate Professor at the International School - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies at the HSE University (Higher School of Economics) in Moscow. She is a scholar and writer specializing in Vietnamese contemporary art, culture, and ethnography, as well as an art curator. In 1990, together with Vu Dan Tan, she established the first independent contemporary art space in Hanoi, Salon Natasha. She is the author of more than 70 publications on art and culture, including Nostalgia towards Exploration: Essays on Contemporary Art in Vietnam (Hanoi: Thế Giới Publishers, 2005).

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