Established in 1957, the Việt Nam Fine Art Association is a national social and professional organisation which aims to promote the nation’s fine art, support the rights of artists and bring them together for creative exchange. It currently has 1,409 members throughout the country and branch offices in 58 provinces of Việt Nam. The Association incorporates five arts councils representing the fields of painting, sculpture, art criticism, applied art and graphic arts, and three executive committees, one in Hà Nội, one in Hồ Chí Minh City and one in Huế. Each year the Association funds the organisation of exhibitions both at home and abroad, organises international exchanges, awards art prizes and holds art competitions. The Association has its own Fine Art Publishing House and issues the bimonthly Mỹ thuật Thời nay (Fine Art Today) Magazine. It also runs the 725 square metre Fine Art Exhibition House (Nhà Triển lãm Mỹ thuật) and the 1,400 square metre Contemporary Art Centre (Trung tâm Mỹ thuật Đương đại) in Hà Nội. The Việt Nam Fine Art Association has close links with the Lao Fine Artists’ Association and each year there is a reciprocal exchange of artists.