From the left: Tran Luong and the artists: Trinh Thi Phuong Linh, Tuan Mami, Vu Duc Hieu at a press conference.

HA NOI (VNS)— As many as eight projects covering a wide range of art forms including dance, visual art, music and multi media by artists in Viet Nam will be financially supported in coming months by the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF), John Nielsen, Danish ambassador and chairman of the fund announced on Wednesday.

"Culture and art is a vital part of our strong partnership with Viet Nam. Our cultural prog-ramme is quite unique and provides us with the possibility of making a real difference supporting art and artists in Viet Nam, said Nielsen.

CDEF has supported nearly 60 projects since 2011, with both minor and major grants, in fields as diverse as contemporary dance, installation art, publishing and film-making to list a few, funding 20-25 projects on average each year.

The fund provides support to contemporary artists and cultural performances in Viet Nam and to cultural exchange activities between Denmark and Viet Nam. The total amount of support from CDEF for years 2011-2015 amounts to more than US$1 million.

"The art scene in Viet Nam is developing quickly these days. To me it is important, that our support for cultural events has a long reach, in terms of cultural areas and trends, and in terms of reaching artists in all corners of Viet Nam," Nielsen stressed.

Artist Vu Duc Hieu, who received financial support from CDEF for the first time, was more than happy to get the cash injection for his project "Contemporary Art Museum".

"Without the financial support from CDEF it would have been difficult for me to complete my project. The support from CDEF is very meaningful and important, not only for this current project," he said.

Other artists receiving support include Le Vu Long with his Together Higher Dance Company project, Irene Becker (Initiative – Luu Khong/ Jazz), Dao Mai Trang (Publication of the 8X Generation Contemporary Artists and Their Challenges in Facing Creation) and Nguyen Quoc Thanh (Queer Art Festival – Queer Forever).

The projects this round will receive a total sum of more than $100,000 from the CDEF. Next deadline for applications to CDEF is expected to be mid-March 2014. — VNS