HÀ NỘI — Two emerging artists and designers will receive financial support to realise digital projects and exhibit their work under RMIT Digital Design and Art Grants 2026.

This is the annual programme offers an opportunity for the Vietnamese nationality to develop a digital project of their own choosing. 

Each grantee receives up to VNĐ55 million (US$2,000) for production and up to VNĐ50 million for a joint exhibition, along with access to RMIT’s technical resources, curatorial guidance, and an expanding network of partners.

Since its inception, the grants programme has produced a remarkable track record. The most significant milestone came from the second edition in 2024, when Hachul Lệ Đỗ’s animated short The Tale of Trần Thanh Dương was selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025 in France, making it the first Vietnamese film to screen at the prestigious event since 1997 and only the second in the festival’s history.

The programme has shown consistent growth across its editions. The inaugural grantee in 2020, Hà Ninh Phạm, has since gone on to residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (France) and the ASEAN Artists Residency Programme in Jakarta (Indonesia), with exhibitions across Southeast Asia.

The second edition saw Hachul Lệ Đỗ and Vũ Diệu Hương present Into The Well at The Outpost Art Organisation in Hà Nội as part of the Việt Nam Festival of Creativity & Design (VFCD) 2024.

By the third edition in 2025, the programme had landed in HCM City Nhân Phan and Long Trần presented ‘Proxy-mate’ at Gate Gate Gallery, curated by Vietnam Media Lab with additional support from Creative Wall (Nami Foundation).

The grants continue to attract artists recognised on the international stage Nhân Phan, for instance, is a recipient of the FutureTense Award  2025 and a finalist for the Lumen Prize 2025. — VNS