Since 2012, the Vietnamese collective Art Labor has initiated years-long, collaborative projects in Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands that transcend the conventional backdrop of museums and galleries. By sowing “seeds” of inspiration through hands-on research and a community-oriented approach, the group has worked together with Indigenous creatives to organize festive exhibitions that reckon with Vietnam’s complex history of colonialism and industrialization. AAP spoke to Art Labor member Arlette Quỳnh-Anh Trần about the group’s practices, as well as her own artmaking practice.

How did the name Art Labor come to be?

We chose Art Labor because “labor” has a dual meaning. To us, art is a form of labor that is similar to other kinds of labor—for example, a housewife is a laborer, a farmer is a laborer. By respecting all kinds of labor we blur the lines so that we can collaborate in a cross-disciplinary way. Labor also stands for “laboratory.” Every collaboration starts as a test; it’s an experimentation of relationships, ideas, methods, production, and mediums.