Open Studio | Roots & Worlds 2025: Elsewhere, Within
04 pm – 07 pm, Sun 23 Nov 2025
Matca Space for Photography
48 Ngọc Hà, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
From the organizer:
The Open Studio proudly presents six participants, young photographers from different regions across Vietnam, together with the works developed during Roots & Worlds 2025.
Now in its second iteration, the alternative school for photography returns with the theme Elsewhere, Within. It is co-designed and led by Eugénie Shinkle (University of Westminster, UK) alongside Hà Đào and Linh Phạm (Matca, Vietnam). Roots & Worlds seeks to create an open space for Vietnamese photographers to cultivate their personal voices, using photography as a tool to observe and make sense of their surroundings, and ultimately to situate themselves within the complexity of contemporary life.
Six photographers selected through an open call are Bùi Thị Hoàng Yến (HCMC), Đinh Hằng Giang (Hanoi), Nguyễn Thanh Hương (Hanoi), Nguyễn Khánh Hoà (Lam Dong / HCMC), Phan Uyển Nhi (Da Nang / Hanoi), and Nguyễn Ngọc Phước Vũ (Hanoi). Each participant receives financial support and artistic mentorship to develop their proposed project from September to November 2025.
The program takes place both online and in person. It begins with a series of online lectures, group discussions, and individual tutorials, followed by a 4-day gathering in Hanoi to collectively edit and present the works. The Open Studio marks the conclusion of their journey, introducing to the public their discoveries and approaches to a range of topics: the loss of innocence beneath the pressures imposed by school and society; collective identity within public space; the “ritual” of street portraiture and the making of the muse; the sacred within urban life; family history and intergenerational memory; and the transitional space between adolescence and adulthood.
Roots & Worlds 2025: Elsewhere, Within is made possible with the Connections Through Culture grant from the British Council. The Open Studio takes place as part of Biennale Photo Hanoi ’25.
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