AiRViNe

Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network (AiRViNe) delightedly announce that we are participating Gwangju Biennale this year! 

As a part of Koganecho Pavilion, we will display both artworks at Koganecho I Pavillion and our research archive at Koganecho II Pavilion.

With the support of curator Nguyễn Hải Nam, the selected artworks of Trần Thảo Miên, Hà Châu Bảo Nhi & Bùi Bảo Trâm (Rab) along with our research archive will be exhibited in Gwangju Biennale 2026 from September 5 to November 15, 2026. 

Koganecho Bazaar 2026 in Gwangju Biennale (I) – A Neighborhood That Breathes Like a Living Being

Venue: Jeonil Building 245

Curators: Kei Yamano, CAI Liyuan, Hai Nam Nguyen, Huang Yi Min, Choi Younmi, Lee Jonghyun, Bang Sungtaek, Changpa

Artists: Sinobu Soejima, Jiang Han Xuan, Bui Bao Tram, Ha Chau Bao Nhi, Tran Thao Mien, Fang Wei Wen, Huang Yi Min, Chen Yen Yi, Xiao Qi Heng, Kim Seungtaek, Lee Jonghyun, Lee Hyanghui, Sim Seong A

Sponsors: City of Yokohama Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

The subtitle of the exhibition held at Jeonil Building 245 Citizen Gallery is “A Neighborhood That Breathes Like a Living Being.” Here, the town and the city are not viewed as fixed landscapes, but as living entities that are constantly moving and changing. In cities where conflict and coexistence, change and vulnerability intersect, what can art record, and what kind of relationships can it create? Through works from various regions, this exhibition considers these questions.

Koganecho Bazaar 2026 in Gwangju Biennale (II) – The Time of Relationships : Archive Exhibition

Venue: Dong-gu Inmunhakdang (House of Humanities)

Curators: Kei Yamano, Cai Xun, Theo Han, Rinnosuke Tokunaga, 

Artists: Koganecho Area Management Center, A4 Residency Art Center, Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network (AiRViNe), Absolute Space for the Arts, Space PPONG, 653artfirm, Daegu Art Factory of Daegu Foundation for Culture&Arts, The Historic Downtown Culture Cluster Totatoga, 97 West District International Art Community (Longhu Town & Xiamen University), Dong-gu Immunhakdang (House of Humanities)

Sponsors: City of Yokohama Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

“The Time of Relationships : Archive Exhibition,” held at the Dong-gu Humanities Center, is an exhibition co-organized by the Koganecho Area Management Center and Gwangju Dong-gu. It introduces the time that has been accumulated within the relationships between art institutions through archival materials and records. It traces the urban and social conditions in which Koganecho and art institutions in East and Southeast Asia have operated, and the process by which their respective activities have met and connected.

A. Artworks

1. Trần Thảo Miên is a Hanoi-based artist and cultural practitioner whose textile sculptures and installations critically examine alienated labour and the contemplative power of inactivity. Drawing from her education at University of the Arts London and extensive solo travels across Asia, Miên co-founded the design-award-winning Collective Sonson, reinterpreting Vietnamese identity through objects fostering stillness and dialogue; and Artist-in-Residence Vietnam Network (AiRViNe), fostering a supportive arts ecosystem.

Happening Happiness
Embroidered silk organza, paper book
Wall piece: 180 x 116 cm, book: 21 x 14,8 x 3 cm
2024 

Happening Happiness emerges from my wish to help my beloved parents understand and process their concerns about my queer future.

For my traditional Asian parents, I created a gender-neutral book based on Lịch Vạn Niên (perpetual calendar), five elements, eight, and characters and twelve zodiac animals. This book bridges the gap between ancestral wisdom and modern knowledge, offering insights about nature and our future beyond binary constraints.

The embroidered tapestry chronicles my personal coming out journey in my thirties: queer animals and florals intertwine;  the boundaries between yin and yang, male and female, light and darkness dissolve; joss paper comes alive in furry pink and woven gold; a transparent veil in between realms; and my partner’s hand and love gently guide me from my shell to celebrate my queerness.

2. Hà Châu Bảo Nhi (b. 1995, Hue, Vietnam) is an artist based between Vietnam and Japan. Having transitioned from a career as an IT consultant to a full-time art practice and art research, she now works at the intersection of technology and contemporary art. Her work is deeply rooted in the exploration of two worlds: yin and yang, life and death, the visible and the invisible. She is the co-founder of Futile Devices Collective in Vietnam, which focuses on the physical medium of new media art through a DIY, hands-on approach.

Your secret is safe with me 
Key board: 44 x 13 x 12 cm 
Monitor: 22 inch
Duration: Continuous
2025

The keyboard is blank. You use muscle memory when typing.  But Your input is secretly altered by a built-in program. Even when you are certain that you wrote correct, the screen displays differently. Is your memory failing, or is there another reason for that startling moment?

We believe that we are able to recall specific patterns by heart. However, do we? Our self-doubt increases with the amount of effort we put into typing correctly. The piece is in the space between our internal confidence and outside evidence, between what we believe we did and what actually occurred. Similar to memory itself, we have total faith in it until we start to doubt it.

3. Bùi Bảo Trâm, or Rab (b.2000), is a visual artist based in Ho Chi Minh City. Rab’s practices address the themes of collective and personal memory, investigating the dialogues and exchanges that occur within relationships. Rab has participated in various projects: Arts Intensive Study Program (Qatar, 2025-2026), ARKO Art Studio Residency (Arts Council Korea, Korea, 2025), Maybank Foundation Fellowship (Maybank Foundation, Malaysia, 2025), “There is no center” group exhibition (ROH, Indonesia, 2025), S.E.A. Focus (Singapore, 2024), etc. In 2025, Rab received Prince Claus Seed Award.

Magpie Tooth Factory (Nhà máy Răng hiệu con Ác Là)
Installation (ceramic, aluminum, acrylic box)
Edition 50 teeth
2025

The Magpie’s Notes on the Five Tigers Tomb (Ghi chép Mộ Ngũ Hổ của chim Ác Là)
Two-layer painting (Layer 1: Ink on Silk – Layer 2: Charcoal on Korean Traditional Paper)
45x55cm
2025 

“I focused on the behavior of throwing teeth onto the roof and the song: ‘까치야 까치야, 이빨 가져가고, 새 이빨 가져다 줘’ (translated: Magpie, magpie, take the old tooth away, and bring me new tooth) to develop the installation 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘪𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. Residing in Seoul gave me the experience of living in one of the world’s leading metropolises; while at the same time, providing me a direct perspective on capitalist societies and the obsessions of consumerism in this city. Within this contemporary context, the image of exchanging old teeth for new ones prompted me to reflect on the concept of biological trade-offs within humanity. Society tends to accept the notion of sacrificing itself in exchange for extraordinary societal advancement. 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘪𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 represents an imaginary factory that, driven by market demand, transforms teeth into commodities.” (excerpt from the artist’s note)

B. Research archive