With the theme “Creative Crossroads,” the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2024 is set to take place from November 9 to 17, with its primary activities centered in Hoan Kiem District. According to the organizers, the Hanoi Children’s Palace, located at 36 Ly Thai To Street, Hoan Kiem District, will serve as a creative hub, hosting a wide array of key events. A total of 41 activities, ranging from exhibitions, displays, film screenings, and performances to community-based creative endeavors, will be held at this venue.
Hanoi Children’s Palace where many activities of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2024 take place.
Photo: Organizing Committee
Unlike the festival spaces of previous years, this time the Hanoi Children’s Palace is envisioned as a “living organism.” Artists will reimagine the structure with a fresh aesthetic, honoring its heritage while continuing to create cultural memories and laying the foundation for sustainable coexistence with historical legacies.
During the festival, this venue will be transformed into a creative complex, brimming with artistic and cultural activities that spark inspiration. One of the highlights is the Pavilion “Childhood Corridor,” an iconic architectural space that breathes new life into old, interconnected hallways, symbolizing the connection between past, present, and future. This space will not only serve as a playground but also as a dynamic point for interaction, engagement, and creativity across generations.
Innocent Corridor
Photo: Organizing Committee
The activities at the Children’s Palace cluster will include exhibitions and displays such as “Waiting Floors,” “Breathing Space – Traces of Time,” the installation “My Grandfather’s Clock,” and showcases like “Heritage in Education” and “Shaping the World.” Community-driven activities such as “Deep Listening,” “Play Station,” “Moving with Space,” “Weaving Frames,” and workshops like “Once Upon a Time: Vietnamese Children’s Cinema during Wartime,” “STEM Creativity and HUNA Robotics,” and the imaginative children’s experience “Here Comes! Amadeus Dan Tan!” will also take place.
Through this diverse lineup of activities, the curators and artists aim to establish a grand exhibition titled “Hanoi Children’s Palace: Nostalgia for the Future,” centered around three main themes: The Children’s Palace as a Memory Exercise; Intergenerational Heritage; and Shaping the World through Play.
This will serve as an opportunity to reconnect with past memories while fostering nostalgia for the future through the interconnected themes of memory, intergenerational heritage, and creativity in play.
The Hanoi Children’s Palace is more than just a venue for the development of children – it is a source of endless inspiration, a vibrant space that appeals to all ages, inviting everyone to reconnect with the colorful, imaginative world of childhood. From this foundation, it aspires to contribute to building a bright, creativity-filled future for the capital.
The organizing committee holds high hopes that this year’s festival will pave the way for a new operational model for artistic and creative spaces, transforming the Hanoi Children’s Palace into a Center for Art and Creativity in the heart of Hanoi. The new Children’s Palace has already been relocated to Nam Tu Liem District, making the old location an ideal candidate for conversion into a creative space. Rich in historical significance, equipped with ample facilities, spacious grounds, a central location, and inheriting a strong cultural legacy, this venue holds great potential to become a beacon of innovation.
Ngoc Minh