Arts and the city

A contemporary art gallery in HCMC aims to help struggling artists get by in a metropolis where everyday costs are constantly rising.

With few art institutions and artist-friendly programs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese American artist Le Quang Dinh opened San Art to support upcoming contemporary artists.

Dinh says that while rising material costs make things difficult for local artists, the cost of exhibition space in HCMC is far more than in Hanoi.

In empathy and solidarity with young bohemians attempting to break into the art scene, Dinh and several partners opened San Art Gallery late last year to provide local and foreign artists with free exhibition space, partial funding and grants.

The gallery at 23 Ly Tu Trong, District 1 is an independent, non-profit, artist-run exhibition space where artists can turn to for financial assistance and participate in exchanges with other artists.

Other San Art founders include art dealers Wayne and Shoshana Blank and overseas Vietnamese artists Andrew Tuan Nguyen, Tiffany Chung and Ha Thuc Phu Nam.

No matter what country or time they live in, artists are constantly worried about having enough money to buy materials or rent exhibition spaces, says Dinh.

San Art provides a home for young artists struggling to make a name for themselves

Artists usually pay VND 5 million (US$ 313) for a week-long exhibit at the HCMC Fine Arts Association, which most young Vietnamese artists simply cant afford, he says.

Contemporary art is just not popular in Vietnam yet, says Dinh.

While other genres are more easily appreciated and draw widespread interest and support, contemporary works are more difficult to understand and are of limited interest to viewers and sponsors, he says.

There are thus few buyers and little profit is generated compared to other genres, he adds, saying that contemporary works often need larger spaces.

San Art was thus founded to assist contemporary artists while also aiming to make modern art more accessible to the public, according to Dinh.

Since its inception, San Art has hosted five events, including last week œScanning installation by famed Japanese artist Goh Ideta.

Nhat ky thanh pho chuyen dong (Diary of a Traveling City) a combination of moving images, installation , photography and sculpture by four Vietnamese artists was a popular exhibit, as was graffiti art exhibition Ranh gioi mong manh (Fragile Frontier) and a collection of drawings by five local and overseas Vietnamese artists entitled Tuong lai (Future).

The gallery also hosts lecture programs and artists in residence as well as exchange projects between international artists, curators, local artists and the public.

San Art has a reading room where those interested in art can readily access art books, exhibition catalogs, scholarly papers, academic articles and art magazines on contemporary art from around the world.

However, the gallery operators are constantly seeking funding to run the gallery and offer more grants each year.

The gallery needs more contributions to expand and help artists thrive with sponsorships and programs to stimulate awareness of contemporary art, says Dinh.