Performance Art has been present in Vietnam for nearly three decades, yet societal understanding of it remains somewhat vague. Nevertheless, it has carved out a distinct niche and provided artists with a novel language. This art form offers great flexibility, encompassing diverse forms and languages, and can easily engage with various societal groups. Moreover, Performance Art requires minimal technical, organizational, and material resources, reducing constraints on space and time, making it highly compatible with contemporary lifestyles.

Due to a lack of formal training and theoretical frameworks, coupled with insufficient support in terms of infrastructure and management mechanisms, Performance Art in Vietnam has developed organically and relies heavily on the support of non-profit art spaces. Simultaneously, the demand for this art form among the youth is expanding beyond the two major cities – Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, experienced artists and art organizations need to contribute to research and the development of theoretical foundations, as well as establish a progressive practice framework. This will enable Performance Art to solidify its position as an academic discipline and pave the way for formal education.

With a diverse series of workshops, Ping Pong 2024 aims to enhance teaching methods and critical thinking. By increasing the frequency of instruction and practice, the program seeks to gradually strengthen theoretical foundations, ensuring alignment with both local and contemporary international contexts.

The ‘Smell of Sound and Soul’ workshop challenges our conventional understanding of Performance Art by questioning the primacy of vision. Can we perceive Performance Art through senses other than sight? 

And if the artist is to perform for an audience that cannot see the performance, what strategies can be employed to ensure that these audiences can perceive and experience the work?

Led by artist Trần Lương, this workshop is part of Ping Pong, the Vietnam & Singapore Site-specific Performance Art Project, participated by the project artists. The event is open to the public to register to observe and discuss with the artists.

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Born in Hanoi in 1960, Trần Lương is a visual artist, independent curator, and major figure in creating space for critical contemporary art in Vietnam. Among the first local artists to experiment with performance and video, his artworks are grounded in local experience, critique repression, emphasize human resilience, and empower the individual through personal action and self-reflection. 

Lương is a member of the Gang of Five (1983–1996), co-founder of Nhà Sàn Studio – the country’s first, artist-led experimental art space (1998), and founder of the Hanoi Contemporary Art Center in 2000, working as its director until 2003. He is also the co-founder and director of APD – Center for Art Patronage and Development since 2020.

Active in creating opportunities for artists and a generous mentor of Vietnamese youth, he goes beyond normal curatorship, encouraging performers to push boundaries, creating exchanges between North, Centre and South Vietnam, bringing diasporan artists back, and hosting international artists. 

Trần Lương has showcased his art in various exhibitions in Vietnam and abroad. His works are held in many public and private collections around the world. He has run a number of community development projects in different regions for more than 20 years. Lương has also contributed to many prestigious international art councils. He received the Prince Claus Prize of the Netherlands (2014) and The Andy Warhol Foundation Award for the Visual Arts (1999). 

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Ping Pong is a performance art exchange program between Vietnam and Singapore co-initiated and co-curated by artists/curators Jason Lim and Trần Lương, with the participation of 09 artists from Vietnam and Singapore. With a title inspired by “Ping Pong diplomacy”, a negotiation initiative from the Cold War, the project focuses on Performance Art, a multi-interface art form that is flexible and open in dialogue and negotiation, to expand the space for interaction, facilitating exploring, sharing, exchanging and mutual understanding among communities, across various historical, cultural and social backgrounds.

The project is initiated by Jason Lim and Tran Luong, organized by the APD – Center for Art Patronage and Development.

Main sponsor: United Overseas Bank (Vietnam) Limited

Co-sponsored by UpGen Vietnam, The Ascott Limited/CapitaLand Investment