Within the framework of the numerous official international cultural agreements outlined above, Việt Nam receives some 100 foreign delegations each year, numbering over 1,000 culture and information practitioners. In some cases the entire costs of such visits are covered by the sending country, whilst in others the Vietnamese government meets the cost of in-country organisation, transportation, accommodation and meals.

On a less formal level, opportunities for foreign artists to visit Việt Nam and work creatively with individual Vietnamese performing and visual artists are developing rapidly with the steady increase in the number of artists' studios and ateliers, particularly in and around the cities of Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City. Collaborations which do not involve public performances or exhibitions can be organised on a direct artist-to-artist or organisation-to-organisation basis, though it should be borne in mind that official approval is required for the issue of anything other than a 30-day tourist visa.

Collaborations in Việt Nam between visiting foreign artists and government-run performing companies, arts training schools or other state cultural institutions require official approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or the relevant Municipal/Provincial Service of Culture and Information.

Vietnamese law requires a permit to be issued for all public performances and exhibitions presented in Việt Nam and to this end requires checking (duyệt) by a government official at least two weeks before it is seen by a general audience. In practice this procedure normally takes place during dress rehearsals or exhibition installations.

Most centres of population in Việt Nam have facilities suitable for the presentation of performances and exhibitions. Many of those in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City are of international standard, whilst those in other major conurbations vary in quality according to their age.

The best-appointed performing arts venues in Việt Nam are without doubt the recently refurbished Opera Houses in Hà Nội, Hồ Chí Minh City and Hải Phòng, all of which incorporate up-to-date stage equipment, although it should be noted that, unlike the other two, the Hà Nội Opera House has no installed lighting and sound equipment, making it necessary to hire this in for performances at additional expense. Modern technical facilities including in-house sound and lighting are available in Hà Nội at the Việt Nam-Soviet Friendship Workers Cultural Palace, the Red Scarf Theatre of the Hà Nội Children's Palace, the Hồng Hà Theatre, the Youth Theatre and the Hà Nội Conservatory of Music Concert Hall, and in Hồ Chí Minh City at the Bến Thành Theatre of the District 1 Cultural Centre, the Phú Nhuận District Cultural Centre and the Hòa Bình Theatre. On Việt Nam’s main touring circuit, the facilities of Thừa Thiên Huế Provincial Cultural Centre and Huế Culture House, the Trưng Vương Theatre in Ðà Nẵng and the Khánh Hòa Provincial Cultural Centre in Nha Trang are basic but adequate. Most provincial and municipal cultural centres around the country have a meeting hall (hội trường) which can double as a performance space. In recent years a number of new provincial cultural houses with multi-purpose auditoria of professional standard have been opened.

Until very recently opportunities for the presentation of overseas visual arts in Việt Nam were extremely limited. However, while commercial galleries in Hà Nội, Hồ Chí Minh City and Huế/Ðà Nẵng still display only work by Vietnamese artists, non-profit art spaces such as Salon Natasha, Đức’s House on Stilts, Ryllega Experimental Art Gallery, Studio Đào Anh Khánh, the Goethe-Institut and l’Espace – French Cultural Centre in Hà Nội and Mai's Gallery in Hồ Chí Minh City are now actively committed to showcasing foreign contemporary art, and as a result international work now receives regular exposure. The appearance of various café and restaurant galleries in both Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City in recent years has also provided an informal platform for work by visiting overseas artists.

Government-run exhibition halls of varying quality may be found in most major centres of population, although it should be noted that at present such venues may only be hired by Vietnamese organisations. At the time of going to press the best-appointed state-run galleries include the Contemporary Art Centre, the Fine Art Exhibition House and the Việt Nam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre (VECA) in Hà Nội and Blue Space Contemporary Art Centre and the City Exhibition House in Hồ Chí Minh City.