❈❈❈EXP004: The Outlandish Festival Residency

Place: Hanoi & Gam Troi Arts Valley, Vietnam
Dates: Friday April 24 – Friday May 1, 2026

April 24-26 in Hanoi · pre-festival
April 27-May 1 in Gam Troi Arts Valley · festival build

Outlandish Festival runs from May 1-3. Residents will receive free entry to the festival. Participation in the festival is optional, though we’d love for you to attend.

Applications due Friday April 10, 11:59pm Vietnam time (rolling basis). Apply here

This program will be conducted primarily in English. Vietnamese and international artists are welcome to apply. Vietnamese version of the open call available here.

Interested in our open calls? Subscribe for updates here.

༺Overview

EXPERIMENT Residency presents a week-long, hands-on residency in collaboration with Outlandish, an experimental music and art festival in Vietnam. This is a shorter, more intensive iteration of our residency program – centered around collaborative building and shaping a festival environment in real time.

❈❈❈Outlandish (@outlandish.vn) is a boutique music and art festival hosted in a countryside valley outside of Hanoi, Vietnam. Presented over an immersive weekend, the festival curates an experience that brings together the best of emerging Vietnamese and regional creative talent.

Live musicians, producers, DJs, installation artists, performers, and creators are handpicked by the team. We celebrate artists from Vietnam, including Dao Anh Khanh – the renowned Hanoi artist who presents Gam Troi Airport as the location for Outlandish. Acts from Iceland, Canada, Ukraine, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and more have also brought their sonic and visual creations to the festival, exchanging culture, ideas, and art within Vietnam and the wider region.

❈❈❈EXPERIMENT Residency (@experimentresidency) is a global, artist-led program that invites artists to develop work in new environments.

Each residency is place-based and shaped by its local context. We approach each location with care, working in dialogue with the communities and environments we inhabit. Rather than prescribing a fixed theme, we create the space and conditions for artists to explore and expand their practice within a new setting.

We’ve run three month-long programs across Berlin and Da Nang. This will be our fourth edition.

༺The Program

The residency begins in Hanoi, where residents will gather for three days of meetups and collective grounding. From there, we travel together to Gam Troi Arts Valley, the festival site. The second half of the residency will be spent contributing to the physical and creative build of Outlandish.

Residents will collaborate on stage design, including the creation of a large-scale hanging chandelier installation over one stage. Beyond that, there is space to intervene, decorate, and shape the wider festival environment with available materials from prior builds. Residents can get as creative as they see fit. Programming will include a bamboo workshop and other skill-sharing sessions, alongside informal gatherings and conversations.

This is a residency for makers and builders. If you’re scrappy, hands-on, and excited to help create alongside one of the newest additions to the Vietnam festival scene, the Outlandish Residency is for you.

❈Stewards

Kora Kwok is a visual artist, spatial designer, and co-founder of EXPERIMENT Residency. His practice examines how art can function as a framework for reflection and human connection, and how designed environments can shape perception, emotion, and experience.

Diego Romero is a multidisciplinary artist, born in the southern tropics of Colombia and built strong in the Canadian mountains. Stage designer by day and fire spinner by night, he has been curating and creating in Hanoi for 7 years. His inspiration stems from organic materials and creating sustainable stages.

Tony Dinh is an Australian-Vietnamese artist, stage designer, and builder. He has been retracing his Vietnamese roots through incredible approaches to utilizing bamboo and repairing motorbikes – two of Vietnam’s most necessary skills!

༺Who should apply?

EXPERIMENT is open to all creatives – visual artists, designers, architects, builders, performers, and those working across disciplines. This residency is especially suited for those interested in space-making, installation, and working with their hands. Prior experience is a plus but not required. We plan to host a small cohort of ~4-8 residents.

🟢 This residency is best suited for artists who are:

Hands-on – You enjoy building, experimenting with materials, and figuring things out on the fly.
Collaborative – You’re excited to co-create with others, contribute to a shared vision, and let go of full authorship.

Scrappy – You’re comfortable getting down in the dirt and working in different environments with potentially limited resources.

🟡 We prioritize applicants who demonstrate:

A strong interest in spatial design, installation, or festival work
Curiosity, adaptability, and openness to experimentation
Kindness, willingness to collaborate, and good vibes

🔴 You should not apply if:

You find it difficult to adapt to food, noise, and different standards of comfort. During the festival build, we will be working long hours outdoors, rain or shine. We will be living in a remote valley with limited access to standard luxuries. If adapting to this environment for a week feels overwhelming, this residency is not a good fit.
You find it difficult to live with or work alongside other people. EXPERIMENT is built on community: it is a shared container for experimentation, creativity, and collaboration. The program thrives when everyone actively contributes to the collective. If communal living or collaboration feels draining or frustrating, please reconsider applying.
You are currently processing trauma or seeking emotional healing through the residency. While we deeply care about our residents, we are not equipped to provide emotional or therapeutic support.
You are expecting a fully funded opportunity. EXPERIMENT is not a funded program: we do not cover housing, materials, travel, or living expenses. Expected costs are outlined below.

❈Accomodation

In Hanoi, residents will arrange their own accommodations. In Gam Troi, residents have the option to stay in dorm-style rooms with the crew. If you prefer arranging your own accomodations in the valley, we’re happy to put you in touch with hotel options onsite or nearby.

༺Expected Costs

EXPERIMENT is a non-profit, artist-led initiative. We are not funded. We do not generate profit from the residency. Programming, administrative, and organizational costs are provided free-of-charge; residents are responsible for their own living expenses.

Hanoi: housing varies; food costs US$2–7 per meal depending on location and preference
Gam Troi: if staying with us, residents can expect to pay ~10-13/day for food and housing.
Transportation: transportation between Hanoi and Gam Troi will cost $5 each way. Once we get to Gam Troi, it’s generally pretty walkable.

*Residents will receive free entry to the festival.

❈❈❈Apply by April 10 ^{~rolling basis}

This residency is an exciting opportunity to help create the Outlandish festival experience alongside other creative minds.

If you’re interested in applying, submit your application here.

Applications are due Wednesday April 10, 11:59pm Vietnam time, and accepted on a rolling basis. We encourage applicants to apply early. Final decisions will be announced on or before April 12.

We look forward to getting Outlandish with you!

༺Interested in our open calls? Subscribe for updates here.