In the late 1990s, the emergence of performance artists became a new social phenomenon in Vietnam. Performance art is ephemeral and unbounded by rules and academic knowledge. With diverse forms and continuous improvisation, the performance artworks are not controlled by space, time, sanctions, technical standards and materials. By which performance art has become an applicable medium for artists to express their themselves, especially in the local context.

In such context, Lim Dim, held in October 2004, was the first professionally organized performance art festival in Vietnam, initiated and organized by Trần Lương, with the assistance of a group of local artists. The festival had the participation of nearly 30 artists from Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, The United Kingdom, Germany, and other art organizations, domestic enterprises, and foreign culture institutes.

It was the first time performance art was organized professionally, paving the way for artistic experimentations and information exchanges related to performance art. The festival provided an opportunity for Vietnamese artists to exchange with and learn from the outside world, as well as to meet the need of experimental artists who wanted to learn about Vietnam’s new ‘open door’ social environment, to seek for diverse local experience and a new source of creative inspiration.

After almost two decades, the screening and talk series on Lim Dim Performance Art Festival 2004 is a chance for professionals, practitioners, and audience who are interested in art and culture to access rare and essential information and data of the project. APD would like to invite you to join and learn about performance art practices in Vietnam in the early period to understand the transitional phase of domestic art from modern to contemporary under economical, political, social and ideological impacts and changes following Doi Moi.

* About 𝑯𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂̀

𝑯𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂̀  is a platform focusing on Vietnamese Performance Art.

Performance art and contemporary art, in general, are usually ephemeral with frail borderlines although they have their own language. 𝑯𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂̀ was founded with the hope to communicate this unique language to practicioners and people who are interested in performance art as a medium for parties to discuss and extend their limits.

With an open mind, 𝑯𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂̀ aims at building a flourishing ecosystem in which activities and dialogues are always sparked and maintained, contributing to motivating the creative spirit for performance art community and enthusiasts in Vietnam.

–

This screening and talk series is a part of APD Art Library Project’s Open Archive Program, with in-depth data collected, restored and conserved systematically by APD, which aims to widely provide information about Vietnamese contemporary art to professionals and the general public.

* The event is organized by APD Center for Art Patronage and Development with the support from Temasek and UPGen Vietnam.