It's been almost a year since my last post. To be fair, it's a been a busy year. dia/projects has been running for almost as long as in our short time going we've engaged in a number of interesting projects and initiatives that has us finally on some solid ground. I've been using Facebook as the primary vehicle to communicate and the group page is located at:

Facebook: dia/projects

dia/projects
227 Street 9a, Level 4
Khu Trung Son, Binh Chanh District
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

dia/projects is a small space for culture and ideas, expanding a conversation about contemporary art in Southeast Asia and beyond. Self-described as a contemporary art experiment -- bringing together artists, designers, architects, theorists, urbanists, curators, historians, performers and general outsiders into fold. It's a discursive space for ideas and discussion, there's no regular programming. We have an library with over 1,200 titles spanning art, architecture, design, philosophy and theory, and special sections on cultures in Southeast Asia. We also have a small but growing contemporary arts archive divided by country and free wifi connectivity for visitors.

Currently, we have Mervin Espina from Manila as Researcher-in-Residence investigating micro-cinemas in Southeast Asia (in July, Vipash Purichanont of Bangkok and MFA student at the School of the Art Institute Chicago, was our first resident, looking at contemporary art practices in the Mekong subregion). Partnering with the International Centre for Art and New Technologies (CIANT) in Prague and the Trondheim Electronic Art Centre (TEKS), we conducted a series of workshops and events last summer spanning Vietnam, The Czech Republic and Norway in a project called New Technologies for Sustainable Development (NTSD).

Local architect Dang Ha Vi traveled to Japan as a part of the Japan Foundation's JENESYS 'East Asia Future Leaders Programme 2010' in connection with dia/projects' developing platform VUI (Vietnam Urban Issues).

Currently, we're planning new projects for 2011. Fingers crossed. Come by for a coffee and a chat. As a New Year's resolution, I'll try and be more diligent about posting.