TADIOTO

March – May 2010
HCM City / Saigon, Vietnam
from a little blah blah

A window until the rains come: albb Open Studio Program

albb’s Open Studio Program will turn an existing café into a creative space where art meets the public in Ho Chi Minh City. Over a period of 10 weeks, selected local and overseas artists will take over a downtown space to use as their studio from 6 – 12 days each.
Located on the floor above Pi-Channel – a stationery and design shop in a fashionable area of downtown Saigon – the 36m2 space features beautiful natural light through a large window that looks down onto the colonial period trees in Le Thanh Ton street. The area is bustling with restaurants, bars, boutiques and shops, busy all through the day and into the night.

A window until the rains come aims to create a flexible, re¬laxed and spontaneous space of interaction between artists and everyday people. Artists are free to work in this open studio setting as they please.

From time to time, members of the general public will stop by – to observe, chat, ask questions, perhaps even assist the artist with their work. Some may make repeated visits, forming friendships or unexpected communities. The project thereby creates a discussion and interaction zone that dissolves the isolated environment of artists’ studios and the mystique of art practice, and creates a two-way interaction flow between artists and everyday people.
The project will span the period between Tet (Lunar New Year) and the start of the monsoon season. One never knows exactly when the rains will come. Looking out of the front window at Pi-Channel, one of the last artists in the program will watch with excitement as the first storm for 2010 breaks over Saigon.

Artists & media
This project is open to both international and Vietnam-based artists. Artists of any age group or style can apply and most media are welcome (please see below).
Other creative practitioners are also encouraged to apply — photographers, designers, architects, fashion designers, illustrators, etc. who produce physical work that can be on view in the space for visitors to look at. Musicians or performing artists are also welcome to use the space as a practice studio.
This project is not open to:
- Painters working predominantly in oil paint
- Artists whose work is heavily computer-based, such as video or 3D artists
- Curators
- Writers or poets
- Students enrolled in undergraduate degrees

The Application Process
Artists will be selected through an application process. Your proposal should detail what you intend to do in the space for the period of your application. Accepted projects must be non-offensive to the government or common social sensibilities.
Artists can apply as individuals or groups working together on a common project.
Artists who have part-time professional commitments can also opt to apply as a pair who share the space, using it at different times during the day. As long as either of the pair is in the studio for at least 75% of the time, such an application is acceptable. Artists do not need to be working in the same media or field in order to put in an application as a pair.
Further details
Artists are encouraged to occupy the space quite fully, producing work that is highly visual or highly material.
Artist are expected to actively produce artwork during the time they occupy the space. They are not required to complete works during the time of this proj¬ect, simply to work or experiment as they normally would in their own studios. The space is open from 9am – 9pm daily. Artists are not able to stay in the space overnight.
As the project’s aim is to promote interaction, artists are expected to welcome visitors and make them feel comfortable, answering any questions, engag¬ing in dialogue or perhaps sitting down together to enjoy a coffee and extended chat. In order to maximize interaction with the general public, artists are required to be in the space for at least 75% (9 hours each day) of the time that Pi-Channel is open (9am – 9pm daily). As this project is a space of social interaction, artists are encouraged to invite their own friends and contacts to the space at any time. They are welcome to hold social gatherings in the space, as they might in their own studios.
albb’s interaction with the artists will be minimal, and artists are expected to work quite independently. albb staff will assist artists in settling into and moving out of the space. albb and Pi-Channel staff will visit briefly every few days in order to touch base with the artists and to document the project.
Artists are to cover their own costs for their materials, living costs, transportation and so forth. No artists’ fees or per diems will be paid as a part of this project.
There will be no exhibition at the conclusion of the program. The program is purely about a space for production and casual interaction with the general public. After the conclusion of the project, a project presentation event may be organized by albb and Pi-Channel to show documentation of the project.
A catalogue will be produced by albb and Pi-Channel at the conclusion of the program, and artists will receive a minimum of 20 copies each. albb and Pi-Channel will also produce printed promotional materials / invitations, and online documentation and promotion of the project (albb weblog, Facebook etc.).
Concept & direction: Sue Hajdu, albb artistic director
Program Manager: Luong Tu Dung
For any inquiries about this program, please kindly contact Sue or Dung in Vietnamese or English, via email
albb.openstudio@gmail.com