AiRViNe

Original interview at: https://paperc.info/event/41720
Event info: https://tra-travel.art/#map

Osaka-based art hub TRA-TRAVEL is launching a new project titled “TRA-PLAY,” in which workshops and programs originally developed by domestic and international art organizations are remade and reinterpreted according to the local context of the host city.

For TRA-PLAY vol.1–3, held consecutively in the summer of 2025, three groups will participate: the Hanoi-based art hub AiRViNe, the Guangzhou artist collective “刺紙,” and the Hong Kong artist collective “c.95d8.” Art projects cultivated within each local context will be translated into Osaka editions, unfolding across three days of workshops and talk events.

By sharing and collectively practicing initiatives that emerged from each group’s specific institutional, cultural, customary, and social conditions, the project aims to create opportunities to listen to contemporary voices while reflecting on our own cultures, societies, and systems.

The first edition, TRA-PLAY vol.1, will take place on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at Ichinijuuni no Yon in Sannō.

This workshop is a remake of the series “Nature on the Roof” by the Hanoi-based art hub AiRViNe (Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network). “Nature on the Roof” invited artists to inhabit abandoned rooftop houses in Hanoi, where they created works through engagement with the space and dialogue with neighboring residents. The project reimagined leisure as a form of guerrilla practice.

The conceptual inspiration behind this initiative comes from Vietnam’s culture of “trà đá vỉa hè” (sidewalk iced tea). In contrast to the formality of tea ceremony traditions, trà đá emerged as a casual, communal counterculture. While traditional rituals often carry an element of elitism, trà đá transforms the act of drinking tea into something accessible, flexible, and shareable. It reflects a Vietnamese attitude toward imported customs: loosening the rules, relinquishing perfection, and embracing the possibilities that arise from adaptation to local conditions.

In Osaka, this spirit will be reinterpreted through “Vietnamese Afternoon Tea.” The event will also include a public discussion titled “In-Betweenness,” examining how Vietnamese artists and art organizations fluidly move between roles—artist, organizer, curator, and institution—according to necessity and context.

Qenji Yoshida (QY):
I’m very much looking forward to meeting you in Osaka. I hear you’ll be visiting Japan to participate in the Setouchi Triennale as part of the design collective Collective Sonson, and I’m really excited to have this conversation.
You’ve been involved not only in Collective Sonson but also in running several different art organizations in Vietnam

Nguyễn Tú Hằng (NTH):
Thank you so much for the invitation. I’m also looking forward to it. 

Yes. apart from the collective Sonson, currently, together with artist Tran Thao Mien, I co-founded the Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network (AiRViNe) to promote cultural mobility and support Vietnamese artists through international exchange. I also co-founded White Light Cinéhub with Thai collaborators, working to establish a new space in Hanoi for independent films and film enthusiasts. I also became the Director of Hanoi Grapevine. Each of these projects influences the others, forming a foundation for a diverse set of practices.

Riccardo Matlakas during his AIR with AiRViNe (2025)

QY:
That’s incredibly active! I’m excited to hear you introduce these projects during the event. Could you also give us a brief idea of the workshop you’ll be conducting in Osaka?

NTH:
This workshop is inspired by Vietnam’s trà đá vỉa hè—sidewalk iced tea stalls—which are casual spaces deeply embedded in everyday life. In Hanoi, there’s even a saying: “If you want to know about the neighborhood, talk to the tea stall lady.” These stalls are where people gather to gossip, read the newspaper (or now scroll on their phones), or simply sit quietly. They blur the boundaries between strangers and neighbors, personal thoughts and public interaction.

QY:
That’s quite different from the rhythm of urban life in Japan.

NTH:
Exactly. Our workshop aims to “translate” that culture into a workshop format. Practically speaking, we’ll sit together, share tea, and create a relaxed space for conversation. For me, this ties directly into questions of the “public” and the “private.” I grew up in Vietnam, where it was normal for two or three families to share one house. Even if you had your own room, it was tacitly understood as a shared space. When I later studied in Japan, I felt the culture of privacy and boundaries very strongly. At first I felt isolated, but gradually I came to appreciate the quietness. Through working in the arts, I’ve become increasingly drawn to these “in-between” spaces. With this event, I’d like to recreate a relaxed and gentle space for encounters here in Osaka as well.

Nature on the roof（2025）

QY:
Thank you so much. I’m really looking forward to it! Do you have any final comments?NTH:
I hope more Vietnamese artists will have the chance to visit Japan—not only to participate in exhibitions, but also through longer-term residencies, research collaborations, and mutual learning. At the same time, I’d love to invite Japanese artists, curators, researchers, and coordinators to Vietnam. There is much we can learn from Japan’s systems, but I also believe our scene can offer fresh perspectives, new stories, and resonant ways of working in return.

Event recap:

TRA-PLAY vol.1 with AiRViNe
Vietnam Afternoon Tea: In-Betweenness

Date & Time｜Saturday, August 16, 16:00–19:00 (free entry/exit)
Venue｜Ichinojuuni no Yon
(1-12-4 Sanno-cho, Nishinari-ku, Osaka)
Admission｜Free (one drink required)
Capacity｜No limit (please note the number of tea servings is limited)
Organizer｜TRA-TRAVEL
Co-organizer｜AiRViNe (Trần Thảo Miên, Nguyễn Tú Hằng)
In cooperation with｜C-index
Supported by｜Osaka City, Hosen Cultural Foundation

Workshop 1 with AiRViNe: 

“Vietnamese Afternoon Tea: In-Betweenness”

This workshop reinterprets Nature on the Roof, a series organized by Hanoi’s art hub AiRViNe (Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network).

Nature on the Roof invited artists into an abandoned rooftop house in Hanoi, where they created works in dialogue with the space and its neighbors. The event sought to reimagine leisure as a guerrilla practice.

Its inspiration came from Vietnam’s culture of trà đá vỉa hè—sidewalk iced tea. In contrast to the formality of the tea ceremony, trà đá emerged as a more casual and communal counter-culture. While traditional rituals often carry an air of elitism, trà đá transforms the act of drinking tea into an accessible, flexible, and shared cultural practice. It reflects the Vietnamese approach of adapting imported customs to local realities—relaxing rules, letting go of perfection, and embracing possibility.

In Osaka, we will adapt that spirit into Vietnam Afternoon Tea.

Following the workshop, we will hold a public discussion titled In-Betweenness. This conversation will explore how Vietnamese artists and art organizations move fluidly between roles—artist, organizer, curator, and institution—depending on the needs and contexts of their practices.