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Number 9 Dream

Opinion

Posted on 18/08/2014

A little over a year after the opening of Zone 9 there is already a documentary being made about its demise. Fabiola Büchele considers the bright flare that was art hub Zone 9.

Words by Fabiola Büchele from & Of Other Things ● Images from Zone 9 Documentary

An air of uncertainty and impermanence hung over Zone 9 from the first beer served at Tadioto until the area’s final closure in December 2013. It was perhaps the very allure of the place. Certainly the patrons had a stark awareness that it would not last.

When asked about the longevity of Zone 9, just after moving in with her music hub Domdom, experimental musician Kim Ngọc said: “I don’t want to think of it. The rent agreement is only for three years – no way to have a longer deal. But Domdom can float around the city if it has no permanent residency. Floating some time is not a bad situation.”

Perhaps no one expected to have the project dismantled quite so quickly, but then no one really knew much at all. The beauty of Zone 9 was that it just happened. It was more a wild cocktail of dreams than a shared vision. It proved both what is possible if you act on opportunities with your full and best intentions, and the vulnerability that exists as the other side of that coin.

A documentary by director Nguyễn Anh Thư exploring the rise and fall of Zone 9 is in its post-production stages. It is set to explore the questions of how, “in eight months of brief wondrous existence, had Zone 9 created a vibrant community for artists and cultural entrepreneurs? Why did the authorities shut it down in such haste?”

Hopefully the documentary will continue to delve even deeper into just what Zone 9 was in the end. When it was finally shut down after the death of six renovation workers, it seemed unclear what it had become. Developing at a staggering speed, it had gone from underground art hub to popular fair ground and photo opportunity in a matter of months. Some of the creatives were already lamenting its loss of integrity before it closed. The dream had come unhinged.