THE FIELDTRIP

TRÀ VINH → BẾN TRE

24—26.09.2026

As part of Program Grands Crus’ collaboration with Nổ Cái Bùm 2026, we organised and supported a three-day field trip for the selected artists and project participants across Trà Vinh and Bến Tre.

We also invited and supported curator Vinh Son to join the journey, accompanying the artists through visits, conversations and encounters with cultural sites and local practitioners.

Moving through temples, museums, cultural spaces and everyday environments, the trip created space for direct research, exchange and new connections.

DAY 01

TRÀ VINH

KHMER PAGODAS

Visits to Khmer pagodas in Trà Vinh — direct encounters with cultural sites as material for artistic research.

A colourful Khmer pagoda entrance with sculpted figures and an ornamental gateway. — Khmer pagoda entrance

A row of monk figures beneath a decorated roof, beside a tiled walkway. — A row of monk figures

Participants observing their surroundings from a terrace.

A pond reflecting trees and a seated Buddha figure within the pagoda grounds.

Participants sitting together in conversation around tables with drinks.

DAY 02

TRÀ VINH

KHMER CULTURE MUSEUM
+ AO BÀ OM

Khmer Culture Museum and Ao Bà Om — moving through cultural spaces, with time for observation and exchange.

The Khmer Culture Museum facade, with its peaked roof and entrance steps. — Khmer Culture Museum

Red and gold rooflines above a courtyard with stairs and water. — Day 02 — architectural details

A white and burgundy tower framed by trees. — Day 02 — along the visit

Participants walking among trees and colourful structures at the site.

The group gathered in the evening, wearing scooter helmets.

DAY 03

BẾN TRE

VÕ VĂN BÁ + ĐỜN DỪA

From a home visit with Võ Văn Bá to instrument documentation at the Bến Tre Cultural Center, followed by the landscape and movement through Bến Tre.

The group visiting Võ Văn Bá at home as he plays an instrument, with instruments displayed on the wall behind him. — Visiting Võ Văn Bá at home — instruments, listening and exchange.

Võ Văn Bá demonstrating a large bowed instrument in front of an exhibition panel documenting his practice. — Võ Văn Bá — instruments and living practice at the Bến Tre Cultural Center.

A participant among coconut shells and palms beside a narrow waterway in Bến Tre. — Bến Tre — coconut landscape and waterways

Participants travelling by scooter across a bridge surrounded by coconut palms. — Moving through the landscape

Three participants on a scooter on a bridge above a palm-lined waterway.

FIELD NOTES

01 — LIVING PRACTICE

Đờn Dừa is a living practice, continuing to evolve through experimentation with sound, structure and scale.

02 — PEOPLE & CONNECTIONS

Encounters with local practitioners opened space for exchange, with potential connections between Võ Văn Bá’s practice and the artists’ continuing research.

03 — PLACE AS RESEARCH

Direct encounters with temples, museums, waterways, cultural spaces and everyday environments offered material for artistic research.

04 — WHAT CONTINUES

The Fieldtrip is a starting point for continuing artistic research, relationships and possible future collaborations, rather than a finished outcome.