HO CHI MINH CITY — A day before gates open, Southeast Asia’s design calendar already has a sharp query: VFCD 2026. The Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design runs 21–27 September under the theme Living Festival, with nearly 40 events centred on Nina Next Space and satellite venues across the city, plus Mekong Delta fieldwork.
After six annual editions from 2019 to 2024, RMIT Vietnam and partners have moved the project onto a biennial footing. For planners searching “VFCD 2026 dates,” “Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design” or “Nina Next Space design festival,” the week’s structure, free-access rule and five programme tracks are already confirmed.
Five tracks under Living Festival
Associate Professor Lim Kok Yoong, Festival Director and Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation at RMIT’s School of Communication & Design, frames the week as a living medium for the city’s creative communities rather than a one-off showcase.
The Living Exhibition gathers more than 25 projects from over 75 practitioners. Festival Futures Forward brings regional and international festival leaders from Southeast Asia and Europe into conversation about evolving models. Living Laboratories activates city spaces through tours, workshops, performances and public programmes. Circular Design Week, themed Metabolic Abundance, asks what design can learn from Mekong Delta ecological rhythms across field sites including Hậu Giang, Cần Thơ and Trà Vinh. The VNx panel turns to the future of creative education in Vietnam.
Where, when and how to attend
CityGuide and Vietnam News listings place the hub at Nina Next Space, 180/1 Nguyễn Tất Thành, Xóm Chiếu, with main exhibition hours commonly cited 09:00–18:00. Organisers and partner coverage say the festival is free to attend, with only limited-capacity sessions needing advance registration or invitations.
Initiated by RMIT University Vietnam with UNESCO, the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies and creative partners, VFCD positions itself as infrastructure for Vietnam’s creative economy — academic knowledge meeting industry and community practice. Official channels remain vfcd.events plus the festival’s social accounts for day-by-day updates.
Primary sources for this advance preview are RMIT Vietnam’s announcement, Vietnam News / VietnamPlus coverage and the festival’s public listings. Search demand for VFCD 2026 should climb as opening day arrives; early explainers that lock dates, hub address and track names are built to rank before the same-day rush.