Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 will feature 150 activities and its first international artist residency, bringing nearly 100 artists from 21 countries to collaborate with local artisans and communities.
Hanoi will host the 16-day highlight of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 - Thang Long Ke Nghe from November 13 to 28, under the theme Creative Economy.
Carrying the message "Connecting Talents, Weaving Assets," this year's festival aims to transform cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and creative capabilities into long-term economic assets, generating livelihoods and positioning cultural industries as a driver of sustainable growth in the capital.
Turning cultural heritage into economic assets
Speaking at a press conference on November 6, Le Thi Anh Mai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, emphasized the city's shift from simply organizing a festival to developing a comprehensive urban creative ecosystem.
Le Thi Anh Mai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
She explained that the festival should not be viewed merely as a series of activities taking place over 16 days, but as the culmination of year-round preparation, networking and sustained collaboration.
Through this approach, Hanoi seeks to reinforce its pioneering role as Vietnam's first city to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
The festival also aims to expand opportunities for cultural exchanges, promote dialogue on an equal footing and introduce Vietnamese creativity to international audiences.
Assessing the event's significance in Vietnam's evolving development landscape, architect Phan Dang Son identified three major transformations facing architecture, culture, the arts, science and technology.
The first is a shift from constructing individual buildings to developing integrated ecosystems in which community value becomes a key measure of success.
The second involves moving beyond static heritage preservation toward revitalization, transforming historic buildings and traditional craft villages into creative production hubs.
The third is a transition from passively absorbing international influences to engaging in equal dialogue with the world through cultural products rooted in local knowledge.
Sharing this perspective, Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Head of the Culture Unit at the UNESCO Office in Vietnam, described the festival as an important platform connecting Hanoi's rich heritage, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary creativity.
She said these connections could help culture make a meaningful contribution to a more inclusive and sustainable urban future.
New records and unprecedented festival experiences
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International artists will collaborate with Vietnamese artists and artisans in creative spaces during the festival.
The 2026 edition introduces several unprecedented features and record-setting initiatives.
For the first time, the festival will organize an international artist residency program, bringing nearly 100 artists from 21 countries to Hanoi.
Participants will work directly with Vietnamese artisans and local communities, creating opportunities for artistic collaboration and cultural exchange.
Rather than scattering activities across unrelated venues, organizers have structured the festival's 150 events around five major creative clusters.
These include Creative Square near Hoan Kiem Lake, Dong Xuan Market, communal houses and heritage sites in Hanoi's Old Quarter, Thong Nhat Park, and a network of theaters and community performance spaces.
Each cluster will contribute to a connected cultural narrative exploring the relationship between markets, streets and traditional crafts in historic Thang Long.
One of the festival's most innovative experiments will take place at Dong Xuan Market, where contemporary art will be introduced into an active commercial environment.
The multisensory exhibition Touching Dong Xuan, curated by Nguyen Anh Tuan, will integrate artistic experiences into the daily operations of the historic market.
By involving market vendors directly in the creative process, the project is expected to provide practical insights for the proposed Dong Xuan Creative Economy Center.
Another major initiative, Stories of Communal Houses in the Old Quarter, curated by Nguyen The Son, will connect 12 communal houses and assembly halls with the Temple of Literature.
The program will reopen traditional cultural spaces to the public, allowing visitors to experience historic craftsmanship at sites associated with the worship of craft founders.
At Thong Nhat Park, the Seeds of Creativity project will introduce two installations, Cloud and Cocoon, beginning November 21.
The initiative aims to transform the park's green spaces into an incubator for new ideas in urban design.
Night performances and creative markets across Hanoi
An artist's impression of a creative space near Hoan Kiem Lake. Photos: Organizing Committee
A major highlight of the festival will be Hanoi Lights Up, a series of nighttime artistic performances curated by Nguyen Quoc Hoang Anh.
The program will feature 17 performances across 11 iconic locations, presenting a diverse range of artistic genres.
The series will begin with the opening ceremony at the square east of Hoan Kiem Lake at 7 p.m. on November 13.
It will conclude with the gala Hanoi, Echoes and Resonances, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on November 28 in front of Dong Xuan Market.
Beyond exhibitions and performances, the festival will place greater emphasis on commercializing creative products and connecting artists with potential markets.
Design fairs such as Crafts & Arts and Makers Market, alongside the Creative Connections program, will provide opportunities for designers, artisans and creative enterprises to showcase their work.
The festival will also feature Gio Gio May May, a dance production developed from the cultural heritage of Trieu Khuc Village.
Together, these initiatives are intended to create new pathways for Hanoi's cultural and creative products to reach international markets.
By combining heritage preservation, contemporary artistic experimentation and commercial opportunities, the 2026 festival aims to demonstrate how creativity can contribute to sustainable urban development while strengthening Hanoi's position as a cultural and creative hub.
Vietnamnet.vn
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