Exhibition «Phụ nữ với cuộc sống» (Women and Life) 2026

   More than 4,198 photographs from 452 authors across 34 provinces and cities went into this year's «Phụ nữ với cuộc sống» (Women and Life) photography contest, and on 19 October the sixteen strongest will be named at a ceremony that doubles as the exhibition's opening.

   Now in its 18th edition, the contest is run by the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Culture House together with the HCMC Photography Association (HOPA), under the professional patronage of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA). A preliminary round on 21-23 August narrowed the field to 105 finalists; a jury chaired by photographic artist Ly Hoang Long (Lý Hoàng Long) then settled on:

• — one first prize, two second prizes and three third prizes;
• — ten honourable mentions;
• — a further set of works selected for the exhibition itself.

   The date is not a coincidence: 19 October falls right before Vietnam marks 96 years since the founding of the Vietnam Women's Union (20 October 1930) and 45 years since this particular Women's Culture House opened its doors (20 October 1981) - the two anniversaries the whole contest was built around this year.

   Not just entrants and their families: anyone curious how Vietnamese photographers frame women's everyday lives today can head to Hall A of the Culture House's second facility for the opening and the show that follows. The ceremony also launches a photo book collecting the contest's best work.

   Final results still await formal sign-off from VAPA before wider publication, but the 19 October ceremony itself is confirmed and going ahead as planned. If that sounds like your kind of afternoon, this is worth the detour.