The SOC project, the largest contemporary art exhibition in Vietnam so far, will run through 2008 and includes three major art exhibitions on contemporary art developments in Vietnam and the world.

A series of cultural and art performances will take place throughout the country, from Ho Chi Minh City to the central city of Da Nang and the capital Hanoi.

Under the guidance of two foreign curators, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Gridthiya Gaweewong, the first exhibition, themed Liberation, is due to kick off in HCM City on November 25 with the participation of 50 local and foreign artists.

The event is also an opportunity for Vietnamese artists to exchange views with big international names such as Jean Luc Godard of France, Joseph Beuys of Germany and Chris Burden of the US.

Other planned exhibitions, named "Reunification" and "Reconstruction", are part of the effort to make contemporary art more popular.