Whilst the Ministry of Culture and Information is responsible for the state management of arts and culture, the welfare of artists and development of their work is the direct concern of the Việt Nam Union of Literature and Arts Associations (Hội Liên hiệp Văn học Nghệ thuật Việt Nam), an organisation whose activities are overseen by the National Committee for Ideology and Culture (Ban Tư tưởng Văn hóa Trung Ương) of the Communist Party Central Committee.

The Việt Nam Union of Literature and Arts Associations oversees the activities of a network of 10 dedicated arts and culture associations, membership of which is mandatory for all artists employed by the state cultural sector with a view to providing appropriate guidance in their work. These are the Việt Nam Writers’ Association (Hội Nhà văn Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Architects’ Association (Hội Kiến trúc sư Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Photographic Artists’ Association (Hội Nghệ sĩ Nhiếp ảnh Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Stage Artists’ Association (Hội Nghệ sĩ Sân khấu Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Fine Art Association (Hội Mỹ thuật Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Musicians' Association (Hội Nhạc sĩ Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Folk Arts Association (Hội Văn nghệ Dân gian Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Film Association (Hội Điện ảnh Việt Nam), the Việt Nam Dancers’ Association (Hội Nghệ sĩ Múa Việt Nam) and the Việt Nam Ethnic Minorities Culture Association (Hội Văn Hóa các Dân tộc Thiểu số Việt Nam). Each of these associations enjoys membership of the Việt Nam Union of Literature and Arts Associations and is represented on its Council.

The Việt Nam Union of Literature and Arts Associations also has branch Unions in the five major cities and in 59 provinces. The largest of these are the Hà Nội Union of Literature and Arts Associations (Hội Liên hiệp Văn học Nghệ thuật Hà Nội) and the Hồ Chí Minh City Union of Literature and Arts Associations (Hội Liên hiệp Văn học Nghệ thuật Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh), each of which incorporates its own city Writers', Architects', Art Photographic Artists', Stage Artists', Fine Art, Musicians', Folk Arts, Film, Dancers' and Ethnic Minority Culture Associations. As at national level, artists in the employ of municipal or provincial government arts organisations are expected to be members of their municipal or provincial arts associations.

At both national and local level the network of arts and culture associations receives funding from the government, although this is minimal and each association is expected to maximise its own potential sources of income.