My research is focusing on Vietnamese art and the economic development initiative Đổi Mới. Governmental economic reforms aid to shape and redefine the practices of working artist to either allow more freedom in content and politics behind the work or confine freedom of expression. Art can reveal the struggle, social issues and daily life of a society and is a crucial sector in the cultural production of a state. With the reform Đổi Mới, Vietnam slowly opened its doors to wider economic development and Western capitalist influence. I aim to conceptualize Vietnamese art during this time to expose the nuances and restrictions imparting on this unique artistic history and how it manifest today in the contemporary Vietnamese art scene. I am interning at an art gallery, attending exhibitions, and interviewing artist and curators as the major sources observational research.