This trip was made on the occasion of AAA’s Open Edit: Mobile Library tour to its first destination, Ho Chi Minh City. Co-presented and hosted by Sàn Art, an independent exhibition space and reading room, Open Edit was held from 24 February to 9 April. As the first interactive archive project to travel to Vietnam, where access to contemporary art material is very limited, the project attracted a wide spectrum of visitors, ranging from local artists, university students, art lovers, and foreign visitors, to teachers, and families with children.

Other experimental initiatives currently happening in the city include a selection of work from the Post Vidai collection, a private art collection established in 1994 that focuses on the post Doi Moi generation of artists, exhibited for the first time from 8 April onwards at the residence of the collectors, Saigon Domaine. Also, the ‘Mise-en-scene’ exhibition at Galerie Quynh was on view from 25 March to 7 April, presenting the work of seven artists who use elements of theatricality and performance to subvert established narratives and challenge existing stereotypes. Independent contemporary art spaces such as dia/projects and ZeroStation are also examples of individuals’ efforts to create space for ideas and discussion, much needed in Vietnam, where government censorship on artistic expression is still an issue.