Hiền Hoàng (b. 1990) is a Vietnamese multimedia artist whose work bridges the intersections of human memory, nature, and technology. Through a practice that spans scientific data, installation, video, virtual/augmented reality, and performance, she creates multisensory experiences that uncover unseen narratives and explore ecological and emotional connections.
Her projects often engage with themes of transformation, resilience, and the paradoxical relationship between humanity and the natural world. In 2023, Hoàng was a finalist for the Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles for her project “Across the Ocean”, which examined familial and political trauma through archival materials and performative installations. That same year, she received an Art Grant from the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media for “Scent from Heaven”, a project combining scientific methodologies (CT and EEG) and immersive VR to explore the suffering and transformation of the Agarwood tree.
Building on this, her 2024 project “Garden of Entanglement”, supported by an EU Commission S+T+ARTS Art Grant, interrogates the vibrational life of trees through dynamic measurements and sonification. Her ability to blend ecological narratives with innovative, data-driven artistic approaches earned her the prestigious Foam Paul Huf Award (2024).
Hoàng’s work has been exhibited in leading art venues and festivals, including Les Rencontres d’Arles and CentroCentro Cibeles (Madrid). Her practice is deeply informed by interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists and technologists, reflecting on the paradoxical role of technology as both a tool for understanding and a force that distances us from nature.
2025: Research Funding. Ministry for Culture and Media Hamburg, Germany
2024: FOAM PAUL HUF AWARD 2024. WINNER
2024: c/o Berlin Talent Award 2024. Shortlisted
2023 – 2024: S+T+ARTS AIR Residency Grant, funded by the European Commission
2023: Louis Roederer Discovery Award, Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles. Finalist
2023: Förderung für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum ( Funding for art in public space), Ministry for Culture and Media Hamburg (Behörde für Kultur und Medien Hamburg)
2023: Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro – Arles 2023, Finalist
2022: Art Scholarship, Kunstfonds Stiftung (Kunstfonds Foundation), GER
2022: Winner / Solo artist at Framing Identity, by Copenhagen photography festival
2021: Nomination for Hamburger contemporary art grant, Ministry for Culture and Media Hamburg, Germany
2021: SHORTLIST IN KASSEL DUMMY AWARD 2022, with the photo book “Asia Bistro”
2021: FUTURES Photography Talent 2021, nominated by the Triennial of Photography Hamburg
2021: Intercultural Project Grant by the Ministry for Culture and Media Hamburg (Behörde für Kultur und Medien Hamburg), Hamburg: Project “Made in Rice”
2018: Lugano Emerging Photo prize: Under the pants. Finalist.
2014: Deutsche Jugendfotopreis: the shadow seeker. Premiere prize.
2010: MOET Scholarship for education, General Ministry of Education Vietnam
2009: PAD x Goethe Institut Vietnam Schorlarship
Exhibition. Across the Ocean. At Scargiglia Palace, YEAST Photo Festival
25 September 2025 – 9 November 2025 – Lecce, Italy
Upcoming
Exhibition. Ecology of Sensitivity: Guangzhou Image Triennial 2025. Guangdong Museum of Art
December 2025 – May 2026
– Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Exhibition. Dealing in Distance. Goethe Institute Vietnam – SEEDiaspora
January 2026
– several cities in South East Asia – to be updated.
Residency & Exhibition. DECK Singapore – Singapore Art Week 2026
January 2026
– Singapore.
Residency. Aequusol XXMMV. Pollinaria
March – April 2026
– Abruzzo, Italy
Research Residency. Squatfabrik 2026 – Kulturfabrik Luxembourg
May – Juni 2026
– Luxembourg
Past
Solo Exhibition Garden of Entanglement. FOAM Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
6 June – 10 September 2025
– Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Exhibition at Bocconi Art Gallery
3 April – 28 June 2025
– Milan, Italy
Exhibition at MIA PHOTO FAIR
19 – 23 March 2025
– Milan, Italy
Open Studio Futures Photography Residency
27 February 2025
– Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Research Residency. Futures Photography
23 January – 28 February 2025
– Amsterdam, Netherlands
Exhibition ENERY. FUTURES. FOTODOK
31 October 2024 – 02 Feburary 2025
– Utrecht, Netherlands.
Lecture for Photo-Eco-System. KABK The Hague
22 – 23 January 2025
–
The Hague, Netherlands
Exhibition Photaumnales 2024. Diaphane Pole Photographiques
21 September – 31 December 2024
–
Beauvais, Clermont-de-l‘Oise, France.
Artist Talk. The Elephant in the Room.
9 November 2024:
–
Paris, France.
Exhibition Across the Ocean. a ppr oc he fair.
7 – 10 November 2024
–
Paris, France.
Symposium. WOPHA Congress 2024. Pérez Art Museum.
23 – 26 October 2024
–
Miami, USA
Exhibition AIR Festival – Epica Foundation, as a part of MANIFESTA 15
25 – 28 October 2024
–
Barcelona, Spain
Exhibition ENERGY. FUTURES. PhotoIreland.
17 October – 10 November 2024
–
Dublin, Ireland
Exhibition Society: Or Infinite Rehearsals. S A V V Y Contemporary.
13 September – 1 November 2024
–
Berlin, Germany
Exhibition T3 Photo Asia Fair, Tokyo Institute of Photography.
18 – 21 October 2024
–
Tokyo, Japan
Workshop REACH II Workshop. HLRS – Media Solution Center
26 September 2024
–
University Stuttgart, Germany
Solo Exhibition: ACROSS THE OCEAN. Mucho Mas! Gallery.
2 May – 30 June 2024
–
EXPOSED Festival, Turin, Italy
Artist’s Talk at Haus der Photographie, Deichtorhallen
22 May 2024
–
Hamburg, Germany
Exhibition at FOAM Edition Gallery
April 2023 – 2024
–
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Presentation & Lecture Garden of Entanglement. Hamburger Kunsthalle
21 March 2024
–
Hamburg, Germany
Exhibition: ENERGY. Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center.
13 October – 28 November 2023
–
Budapest, Hungary
Lecture: Scent from Heaven. FOMU Antwerp
13 November 2023–
Antwerp, Belgium
MORE INFOS
Solo Exhibition | Treescape installation: SCENT FROM HEAVEN. Planten un Blomen
17 – 24 October 2023
–
Hamburg, Germany
Exhibition: MOVING DEFINITION. Rencontres de la photographie d’Arles
3 July – 24 September 2023
–
Arles, France
Exhibition: She sang a song. Photography Museum Braunschweig
2 July – 10 September 2023
–
Braunschweig, Germany
Exhibition: Revived. Photo Hanoi’23 – Biennale. VCCA.
7 May – 25 June 2023
–
Hanoi, Vietnam
Exhibition: Across the Ocean. Florida Lothringer 13 Gallery
10 – 27 November.2022
–
Munich, Germany
Exhibition: Hybrids. FUTURES x Photo Espana. CentroCentro Cibeles
3 June – 25 September 2022
–
Madrid, Spain
2021 – 2022: Exhibition touring with Kassel Dummy Award 2022. Various locations. Details on Kassel Photo Award Website
09.2022: Plat(t)form, Winterthur Fotomuseum, Winterthur, Switzerland
08.06 – 24.07.2022: Athen Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athen, Greece
02 – 12.06. 2022: ASIA BISTRO – MADE IN RICE. Solo show at Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
03 – 06.06.2022: Ruled by touch. Group show. Mundhalle e.G. Part of Triennial of Photography Expanded, Hamburg, Germany
21.05.2022: PHOTO 2022 in Melbourne, Australia.
28 – 30.04.2022: Call Me. Graduation show. HAW Hamburg, Germany.
11.02 – 30.04.2022: Kunst in der Börse, Handelskammer Hamburg, Germany
24.03 – 07.04.2022: ASIA BISTRO: MADE IN RICE, SOYA & SLIT EYES. Solo show, Vier.ruhr Zentrale, Mühlheim, Germany
25 – 26.01.2022: Remote >< Control – Lecture and Portfolio View at HfG Offenbach, Offenbach, Germany
11.12.2021 – 09.01.2022: Nominees. Kunsthaus Hamburg, Germany
19 – 21.11.2021: add art Hamburg, K.D. Feddersen, Hamburg, Germany
14 – 17.10.2021: Photobook Week Aarhus – with Kassel Dummy Award 2022. Aarhus, Denmark
10.09 – 17.10.2021: HYBRIDS. Futures Annual Event & Exhibition. Melweg expo, Amsterdam, Netherlands
17.09.2021: HYBRIDS Conference. Panel discussion with Dr. Nina Mangalanayagam, moderated by Marina Paulenka. Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
23 – 26.09.2021: FRAPPANT gallery, Group exhibition, Hamburg, Germany
20 – 21.07.2021: MADE IN RICE, Performance screening at the Tea house, Planten un Blomen park, Hamburg, Germany
22.07 – 27.08.2021: HORROR VACUII. Leipzig, Germany
10.2020: Invisible Lines, at the Arts House (Old Parliament), Singapore
07.2020: Noorderlicht futurama, Museum Belvédère, Netherlands
06.2020: Lost – Lacuna Art Festivals, Lanzarote, Spain
02.2020: Rundgang Armgartstraße, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
11.2019: Asia Bistro: Exportable authenticity. Solo Show. Geometry, Hamburg, Germany
11.2019: Performance “Eatculpture”, at NAKT Performance Festival, Hamburg, Germany
08.2019: Rausch, Begehungen Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany
02.2018: QUINTESSENZ, HSRM Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany
08.2014: Deutsche Jugendfotopreis, Photokina Cologne, Cologne, Germany
