Danish ambassador John Nielsen.— Photo danviet

HCM CITY (VNS)— The Vietnamese-Danish Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) under the Embassy of Denmark, hosted an introductory workshop in HCM City on Thursday for local artists and the south to have a chance to access its financial support programme.

Danish ambassador John Nielsen, who is also chairman of CDEF said that CDEF provides support to contemporary artists and cultural performances in Viet Nam, and to cultural exchange activities between Denmark and Viet Nam.

He stressed that the project must be innovative, modern and further develop the cultural art scene in the two countries in order to receive funding.

The total budget for the programme is more than US$3 million.

Half of the budget has already been allocated, mostly to artists in the north.

Now the ambassador wants to use this workshop to raise awareness of the fund among artists in the south.

"The art scene in Viet Nam is developing fast these days," Nielsen said.

"It is important that our support for cultural events has outreach, both in terms of cultural areas and trends, and in terms of reaching artists in all corners of Viet Nam."

The next deadline for applications to CDEF is mid-march of this year.

CDEF has supported nearly 60 projects since 2011, with both minor and major grants, in diverse fields such as art, contemporary dance, installation art, publishing and film making. — VNS