Dealing in Distance I Traveling Festival Across Southeast Asia
From January 9-11, 2026, the traveling art festival “Giữa Miền Di-Dịch / Dealing in Distance” opened at COMPLEX 01 with the participation of 13 Southeast Asian artists working in Southeast Asia and Germany. Co-initiated by four Goethe-Instituts in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the program explores migration as a relational, ever-evolving identity.
Thinking about diasporic identity – a life shaped by migration and displacement – is to think about becoming, a relentless negotiation of selves through encounters. Like a rhizome – a horizontal, entangled network – this identity forms through connections across distances, languages, histories, and artistic approaches.
The festival presented new works from three residency programs in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, alongside contributions selected through an open call. In Hanoi – the first stop before traveling to Ho Chi Minh City, Denpasar/Bali, and Manila – three vibrant days created emotionally rich moments of connection.
Over three days in Hanoi, the program brought a diverse series of activities including exhibitions, performances, installations, workshops, exchanges, and discussions. “Anonymous Kitchen” offered an experience of cooking and eating together throughout all three days. “Xum Sum” – sound performances and group improvisation, along with “90/Now” – contemporary dance were also performed continuously during the festival.
Special activities included “Cứ là con gái thôi” (Just Being a Girl) – an interactive salon performance, “Non cao mộng đẹp” (High Mountains, Beautiful Dreams) – a performance with flowers, and “Viewing with Artists” creating space for direct dialogue. A contemporary dance fusion workshop for all levels opened opportunities for participants to experience body language. “Thelma and the Vixen” was a poetry and sound performance interweaving literature and sound art.
“Garden Afternoon Tea” – a cooking and conversation workshop, “Cộng đồng đa đoan” (Multifarious Community) – a presentation and discussion, and “Ở hai chân trời” (At Two Horizons) – an artist roundtable concluded the festival with profound sharing about experiences of working across borders and challenges in maintaining connections.
Dealing in Distance in Hanoi concluded after three vibrant and inspiring days. Artists and audiences were truly “together in distance” through intimate exchanges filled with emotion and privacy, where there were both laughter and tears. Through diverse artistic practices, the program created cross-cultural dialogues between artists and between artists and local communities, where stories, memories, and sensibilities intertwined into a shared home.
