Future Ancestors is an RMIT global intensive program taking place in Hanoi in Nov/Dec 2023. The program brings together RMIT students from creative disciplines in Melbourne and Hanoi into an interdisciplinary program where they will work with Hanoi-based guest mentors on real-world collaborative projects.
Whilst EOI for participating in Future Ancestors has closed, students may contact Dr Alan Hill to explore the potential of joining the program – email alan.hill@rmit.edu.au
LINK TO RMIT GLOBAL Programs > RMIT Global Experiences
Part of the Creative Civil Practice Program
Future Ancestors is the 2023 iteration of the ongoing Creative Civil Practice Program, funded by the Australian Government through the New Colombo Plan. There are past iterations of the Creative Civil Practice Program here.
The Creative Civil Practice Program is based in the research of Dr Alan Hill, published in 2022 in his PhD thesis Beyond Good Intentions: Reframing documentary photography as a civil practice. In his thesis, Dr Hill extends Professor Ariella Aisha Azoulay’s concept of the civil, defined as “the interest that citizens display in themselves, in others, in their shared forms of coexistence, as well as in the world that they create and nurture”. Applied to photography, Dr Hill considers the potential of the ‘event of photography’ as a form of civil action.
Hanoi: Future Ancestors
The 2023 Hanoi: Future Ancestors program sets out to explore issues at the intersection of contemporary creative practice and questions of cultural heritage. Our starting point is to speculate about the city – Hanoi – in 25 years’ time and ask what role creative practitioners might play in preserving and/or creating ‘future heritage’. Effectively, how can we be ‘good ancestors’ through practice?
We will be introduced to contemporary debates in this field through a series of guest lectures from leading thinkers and makers (online, throughout November), with particular emphasis on questions of intangible cultural heritage in storytelling, craft and lens-based practices. Students will then have the opportunity to take part in real-world, transdisciplinary and industry-connected projects in and around Hanoi for two weeks (27 Nov – 8 Dec 2023) while also attending the Vietnam Festival of Creativity and Design. Information about the 2022 Vietnam Festival of Creativity is here.
The Projects & Mentors
One of the unique features of the Creative Civil Practice Program is the partnership with local mentors who set out project for each group to consider.
The 2023 Hanoi: Future Ancestors program will consist of three projects framed by three local mentors.
The projects are: Weaving the Future; Extending Heritage, and Inner-City Commute.
PROJECT: Weaving the Future
Sustainable Textile Craft and Fashion Design in Việt Nam
What are the environmental implications of textile craft practices and fashion design in Việt Nam, and how can they be made more sustainable? How can the integration of cultural and environmental sustainability in textile craft practices and fashion design contribute to the overall wellbeing of local communities in Việt Nam?
Weaving the Future Mentor: Thao Vu, Kilomet 109
Kilomet 109 is the vision of Thao Vu. Designer, artist and eco-entrepreneur, Thao is a leader among the pioneering group of young designers who have made Hanoi an emerging creative hub of the fashion world.
Weaving the Future RMIT Staff:
Ms Thao Nguyen, Research Services Adviser, RMIT School of Art (Melbourne)
Ms Michal Teague, Lecturer in Design Studies, School of Design and Communication (Hanoi)
Ms Becky Lu, Associate Lecturer, Design Studies, School of Design and Communication (Hanoi)
PROJECT: Extending Heritage
Could creative speculative outcomes utilising expanded imaging applications such as photogrammetry and webXR contribute usefully to extended understandings and experience of heritage? Given the complex multilayer architecture of Hanoi, could these outcomes contribute to a nuanced understanding of domestic space?
Extending Heritage Mentor: Hanoi Ad Hoc
Hanoi Ad Hoc is a multiannual, interdisciplinary research framework and design program. This design-oriented research provocatively reconfigures the contemporary vision of forgotten parts of Vietnamese modernism architecture and shed light on everyday urban banalities.
Extending Heritage RMIT Staff:
Dr Alison Bennett, Associate Dean, Photography, RMIT School of Art (Melbourne)
Mr Ondris Pui, Associate Lecturer in Design Studies, School of Design and Communication (Hanoi)
Mr Paul-Antoine Lucas, Associate Lecturer in Design Studies, School of Design and Communication (Hanoi)
PROJECT: Inner-city Commute
How do questions of history, urban design, climate change and inclusivity influence movement around the city now and into the future?
Inner-city Commute: Mentor: MATCA
Matca is an independent, non-profit initiative dedicated to photography as a form of visual art. Founded in 2016, Matca has evolved across platforms, including but not limited to an online journal, a physical space, and an imprint. The open organizational structure allows us to experiment and adapt to the changing local context.
Inner-city Commute RMIT Staff:
Dr Alan Hill, lecturer in photography, RMIT School of Art (Melbourne)
Mr Edward Ryan, Associate Lecturer in Design Studies, School of Design and Communication (Hanoi)
Within each project, teams will comprise of students and staff from both RMIT Melbourne campus and RMIT Hanoi campus, along with industry guest mentors working on an industry brief developed with the mentors.
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW
Online Briefings
| Wednesday 1 November | 5pm Melb | online | An explanation of the project & framework: how it will work and how it will be assessed Discussion of groups, and icebreakers to meet each other. |
| Wednesday 8 November | 5pm Melb | online | Meet the partners/mentors: Weaving the Future: partner/mentor: Kilomet109 Extending Heritage: Hanoi Ad Hoc Inner-city Commute: MATCA |
| Wednesday 15 November | 5pm Melb | online | International contexts: Professor Amareswar Galla, UNESCO Chair on Inclusive Museums & Sustainable Heritage Development, AnantU, Ahmedabad, India; Distinguished Professor of Indigeneity and Inclusive Museum & Heritage Studies at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences & Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, India. Recommended reading: Galla 2002, ‘Culture and Heritage in Development: Ha Long Ecomuseum, a case study’, Humanities Research Vol. IX, No. 1, 2002. Dr Yazid Nin Salam, Associate Director, McGregor Coxall, Discipline Lead of the Biourbanism Lab. Recommended Readings: Archival Photogrammetry Guidelines Recommendations (arcgis.com) |
| Wednesday 22 November | 5pm Melb | online | Understanding Melbourne & Hanoi contexts Practical information about what to expect in Hanoi |
Hanoi Intensive schedule overview
| Sunday 26 November | evening | Hanoi | book into accommodation |
| Monday 27 November | day | Hanoi RMIT | all day symposium; evening meal |
| Tuesday 28 November | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork |
| Wednesday 29 November | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork |
| Thursday 30 November | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork |
| Friday 1 December | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork; program check in |
| Saturday 2 December | day | Hanoi | RMIT Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design |
| Sunday 3 December | day | Hanoi | RMIT Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design |
| Monday 4 December | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork |
| Tuesday 5 December | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork |
| Wednesday 6 December | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork |
| Thursday 7 December | day | Hanoi | project fieldwork; online exhibition planning; VFCD presentation |
| Friday 8 December | day | Hanoi RMIT | concluding sharing symposium & online exhibition planning |
| Saturday 9 December | morning | Hanoi | check out of accommodation. |