Opened in March 2001 with assistance from the Ford Foundation and Indochina Arts Partnership (IAP), this venture of the Việt Nam Fine Art Association is housed in a three-storey building in the west of Hà Nội, not far from Giảng Võ Exhibition Centre. Incorporating a total of 1,400 square metres of space, the Centre houses two exhibition galleries, two studios, a computer graphic design room, a library and four guest rooms. The Centre promotes creative activities and undertakes research, offering a conducive environment for the development of professional contemporary art activities. Its functions include: (i) organising national and international art camps; (ii) curating exhibitions of new work by Vietnamese and overseas artists; (iii) organising professional seminars, talks and artistic exchanges; (iv) opening fine art courses; (v) establishing and managing an art library (based on the library of the Việt Nam Fine Art Association); (vi) establishing, managing and organising studios for painting, sculpture, graphic art and ceramics; and (vii) organising other professional activities authorised by the secretariat. Exhibitions of new work by Vietnamese and overseas artists are presented here on a regular basis. The Centre is funded by the government and gets additional funding from the Ford Foundation as well as organising its own income-generating activities. It is currently seeking additional sources of funding from Vietnamese and foreign organisation in order to strengthen its ongoing programme of activities.