'Spirit of Friendship' will be by no means comprehensive of the breadth of such artistic activity across this country, rather it is conceived as the first chapter of an ongoing research and archive program of The Factory (with future dedicated website: www.spiritoffriendship.org) celebrating the Vietnamese artistic community's resilient ingenuity, which has sought innovative means of building audiences for art. This exhibition is marked by individual reflection of collective artistic labor and its supportive networks, in turn evidencing how these perspectives are propelled by, and operate in response to: the tension between internal and external social assumptions; between those who remained and those who fled; between honesty and compromise; between ambition and earning a livelihood - these being but a few of the persistent dilemmas that continue to characterize Vietnam's experimental art scene today.

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The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre Factory Contemporary Arts Centre is the first purpose-built space for contemporary art in Vietnam. As an independent organization, we are a 'factory' of critical ideas; a site of constant physical transformation; a network of people who strive to speak about tangible and intangible cultural memories that matter and are indelibly unique. We understand the social system that we operate, but we want to challenge its limits, acknowledging artists today as st interdisciplinary thinkers who reveal unique ways of conceiving our journey into the 21 Century - their ideas we thus nurture and celebrate as constructive observations of our social world.

Established in 2016 by artist Ti-A, The Factory aims to be a dynamic destination for art, designing innovative programs illustrating the creative criticality of Vietnam today. With significant gallery space in which to experiment and a dedicated Arts Department with international curatorial expertise, our program of curated exhibitions, workshops, live arts, talks and film screenings is driven by the needs of our local community, particularly committed to assisting artists in their search for resource, visibility and support. In Vietnam we possess a rich aesthetic tradition whose diverse languages stretch from lacquer to silk production, from puppetry to wood craftsmanship; however our contemporary fine arts remains little known and understood due to a lack of arts and educational infrastructure who care about its global competitive relevance. In response, The Factory thus endeavors to initiate programs that connect and develop cross-cultural dialog, collaborating with like-minded partners at home and abroad, in the creation of quality projects and opportunity that further develops artistic production and cultural publics in Vietnam.

Located 20 minutes east of the centre of Ho Chi Minh City in Thao Dien, in District 2, The Factory's unique architecture stands out as a beacon of creative spirit - a warehouse with over 500m2 of designed display space by HTA + Pizzini Architects, replete with a container-ville at its street-font. The Factory operates as a social enterprise, whereby all profit from sale of art and business on the property supports the running costs of its art-related programs.