About This Book
Where It All Began is a visual record of the earliest chapter of Vietnam Cultural Exchange and its first space for children and art in Da Nang.
The story began with a simple belief: children should have a place where creativity could be explored freely, without comparison or pressure. In 2018, that belief began to take physical form through a small children’s gallery created alongside a space for Vietnamese art.
This book brings together photographs of the first gallery, early exhibitions, community gatherings and children’s workshops. It remembers not only what the space looked like, but also the atmosphere that surrounded it: curiosity, uncertainty, friendship and the hope of building something meaningful.
The final pages document the interruption brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the original gallery closed, the ideas that began there continued to shape the future of VNCE.
2016
A conversation at a children’s gallery in the Netherlands inspired the first idea.
2019
Early workshops, exhibitions and community activities began to grow.
2018
VNCE opened its first children’s gallery and Vietnamese art space in Da Nang.
2020
The gallery closed during the pandemic, but its purpose and relationships continued.
Preview Pages
Every beginning carries a quiet hope. Ours began with a small space, a few works of art and the belief that children deserved to be there.
