Since 2023
كيف نمونا
How we’ve grown
Since 2023, we have grown from a research initiative into an international platform connecting ideas, people, and emerging technologies across cities.
ARTIFACT Futures grew out of VAC, an initiative founded by Muchun Niu in New York and established in Hanoi in 2023. Since then, we have built programmes from the ground up, developed partnerships with international institutions, backed people and ideas early, and built a network spanning culture, research, technology, and entrepreneurship.
New YorkHanoiShanghaiVeniceLondonSan FranciscoAbu Dhabi
Since 2023
منذ 2023- 28
- Residency alumni
- 92
- Contributors & collaborators
- 15+
- Institutional partners
- 30+
- Media features
- 10+
- Cities reached through the Journal
The Journal is printed in a limited run of 500 copies, sent to selected readers in Shanghai, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Venice, Paris, Berlin, London, San Francisco and Abu Dhabi.
Selected milestones
محطات مختارة01
Building from the ground up
Hanoi is where we learned how to turn an idea into an institution: building programmes, partnerships, and a community from the ground up.
- 2023Our first public programme opened at Hanoi’s 120-year-old Gia Lâm train factory, created with the architect Trung Mai as part of a city-wide festival that drew some 200,000 visitors.Hà Nội Mới
- 2024We established a residency for artists, researchers, and scholars. To date, 28 people have taken part.
- 2024Less than two years after our first programme, we expanded internationally with a second space in Shanghai.ArtAsiaPacific Ocula
The Grid, by Trung Mai and Hanoi Ad Hoc · Gia Lâm train factory, Hanoi, 2023 02
Building institutional relationships
Our programmes have created lasting connections with leading international institutions through research visits, exchanges, and collaborations.
- 2025Hosted a curatorial research group from the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
- 2026Hosted a patrons’ group from the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
- 2026Presented our London Forum at the British Library Knowledge Centre, with an evening programme at Leighton House.More
An evening at Leighton House, with ElevenLabs · London, 2026 03
Backing people early
We identify people with strong ideas early and give them the support, space, and connections to take their work further.
- 2024Our first resident’s open studio drew almost 400 visitors and was featured by VOV, Vietnam’s national broadcaster.VOV
- 2026Đỗ Tường Linh, a former VAC curatorial fellow, was appointed curator of Vietnam’s first national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale.ArtAsiaPacific
- 2026ARTIFACT Futures launched its Builders programme, backing three early-stage founders developing new technologies around human memory, creativity, and cognition.More
Performance at the opening of VAC’s third-anniversary exhibition · Hanoi, 2026 04
Moving across ecosystems
We move between research, technology, entrepreneurship, and culture, connecting people and ideas that rarely occupy the same room.
- 2025The Journal launched at the Venice Architecture Biennale as part of Intelligens, curated by Carlo Ratti, director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab.La Biennale di Venezia
- 2026Our London Forum is an official London Tech Week Fringe event, with programmes at the British Library and an evening presented with ElevenLabs.More
- 2026During SF Tech Week, we bring together founders, researchers, investors, and the art world for a gallery evening co-hosted with Emergences Labs, MoE Capital, GMI Cloud, and J.P. Morgan.More
Trung Mai walks visitors through The Reincarnated Grid, Journal in hand · Venice, 2025
In pictures
بالصور
Timeline
الخط الزمني2023
VAC established in New York and Hanoi
Founded by Muchun Niu in New York, VAC established its first base in Hanoi and launched its public programme at the Hanoi Creative Design Festival in the historic Gia Lâm train factory.
2024
Residency programme begins
VAC launched its residency programme, creating a space for artists, researchers, and scholars to develop new work and research.
Shanghai opens
Less than two years after establishing in Hanoi, VAC opened a second space in Shanghai.
2025
ARTIFACT Journal launches
Issue No. 1 launched at the Venice Architecture Biennale, followed by Issue No. 2 at West Bund Art & Design in Shanghai.
International network grows
Research visits, contributors, and collaborations expanded the network around VAC and the Journal across cities and institutions.
2026
ARTIFACT Futures takes shape
ARTIFACT evolved into ARTIFACT Futures, bringing research, publishing, convening, and support for early-stage technology Builders into one platform.
The Inquiry goes global
The Future Is Behind Us became our first annual Inquiry, beginning in London during London Tech Week and continuing through San Francisco, Shanghai, and Abu Dhabi.
What’s next
ما القادمSan Francisco · October
Human × AI during SF Tech Week, bringing together founders, researchers, investors, and the art world.
Shanghai · November
ARTIFACT Futures at West Bund Art & Design, presenting projects by the early-stage Builders we back.
Abu Dhabi · December
Abu Dhabi Conversations, bringing together international and regional voices around technology, culture, and the human future.
In the press
في الصحافة30+ media features since 2023.
What we learned
ما تعلّمناهGood ideas do not come from one field.
The people behind them may be founders, researchers, artists, scientists, or technologists. What connects them is a strong point of view, the ability to turn ideas into something real, and the ambition to make a difference.
ARTIFACT Futures brings together what we learned from supporting people early, building international networks, publishing ideas, and creating programmes across cities, to the questions and technologies shaping what comes next.
Bring ARTIFACT Futures to your city
We work with cities and institutions to turn ambitions for the age of AI into programmes, partnerships, and projects.