Home Hanoi Grapevine's Finest Finest Projects Finest Projects 2025-2026: Food and War in Southern Vietnam

Finest Projects 2025-2026: Food and War in Southern Vietnam

Posted on 08/06/2026

Food and War in Southern Vietnam

About project: Food and War in Southern Vietnam was an experimental collaborative exhibition project by the War Remnants Museum, together with Associate Professor Jane Gavan of Sydney Vietnam Institute (University of Sydney), HCMC University of Culture and University of Architecture HCMC. It forms a pilot of the UNESCO Curating Futures initiative. The exhibition explored themes of food, memory and the everyday lives of people in southern Vietnam during wartime through a form of multisensory storytelling that combines oral histories, sound, scent, installation and community interaction. Rather than focusing on military history, the project highlighted acts of care, survival and human creativity in times of war. Visitors were invited to directly participate in activities such as grinding rice by hand, smelling fermented foods and spices, contributing family recipes and interacting with reconstructed wartime kitchen spaces. Beyond displaying artefacts, the exhibition also collaborated with artists Vương Thục Mẫn, Nguyễn Ngọc Trân and Lê Hà Khánh Phương on watercolour paintings and illustrations to for better interpretation and engagement.

The project also connected with independent art networks such as Nguyen Art Foundation and Dogma Collection, while experimenting with models of community-led curating, archival research and image copyright protection practices in Vietnam’s public museums. The exhibition attracted more than 800,000 visitors in 2025.

Art form: History, Heritage

Duration: 04 September – 31 December 2025

Organizer: War Remnants Museum, Sydney Vietnam Institute, HCMC University of Culture, University of Architecture HCMC

Activities: Exhibition

Vote here
Deadline for voting: 11:59 PM, 13 June 2026

HANOI GRAPEVINE’s FINEST is an annual event honouring contemporary art in Vietnam, initiated by Hanoi Grapevine and selected by the Passionate Audience Council (PAC) alongside the wider audience community. The event recognized individuals, organizations, creative art projects and activities, as well as artists aged 35 and under who have influenced the community, or emerging artists with outstanding practices. Through these efforts, the goal is to encourage the development of creative arts, enhance communication, and radiate the power of arts and culture even more deeply and widely throughout the community.

Dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and objective overview, HANOI GRAPEVINE’s FINEST introduces a different format for each edition. This year, Hanoi Grapevine’s Finest 2025-2026 is divided into two categories: the Honouring Category and the Recognition Category.