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They may not seek the spotlight, yet they quietly become a source of strength for many. With dedication and a refreshingly open outlook, these Front & Female 2025 honourees are gently shifting the way we understand beauty and human worth.
Some changes do not begin with grand declarations or moments of acclaim, but rather with a simple question: What if I dared to begin? These women have taken that thought and opened new paths, turning personal reflections into meaningful acts and creating ripples of positive energy that move through communities and resonate far beyond.
This is the very spirit behind the Front & Female 2025 Social Impact Award created to recognise women who, in their own ways, support marginalised communities and reshape social understanding of gender equality. Their work pushes the boundaries of beauty, cinema and contemporary art, leaving a distinctive mark on culture.
Pham Ha Phuong (PSI) – Redefining beauty through art
In a past interview, makeup artist PSI (real name Pham Ha Phuong) reflected: “Being born a woman, you must live brightly like flowers. Others may not recognise your beauty, but you must recognise your own.” For her, makeup is a process of unlocking confidence from within. With the insight that comes from lived experience, she chooses to work with brushes and colour not just to enhance features, but to convey a deeper message of self-love, especially to young women navigating a maze of beauty standards. After more than 15 years in the industry, PSI has quietly stood behind the spotlight, helping many individuals find their own.
PSI is the founder of PSI PSI Makeup & Academy, one of Vietnam’s leading makeup training centres. Over the years, she has collaborated with a host of well-known artists and fashion icons, including Chau Bui, Quynh Anh Shyn, Son Tung MTP, as well as international acts such as Bond and Clean Bandit. Her artistry has also attracted the attention of major luxury houses such as Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Coach, and Hermès, who have entrusted her with high-profile campaigns.
Read more: Exhibition “Initiation – The Beginning”: Ngo Thanh Van’s self-reflection mirror and healed hearts
PSI has also been recognised abroad. She received her first international scholarship from the Make Up For Ever Academy in France (2014), and in 2018, was awarded a full scholarship to DFMA in the UK, where she was honoured as one of the talents selected by the celebrated makeup artist Lisa Eldridge.
Beyond her commercial work, PSI leads various creative projects that celebrate and uplift the image of modern Vietnamese women. Among them: Vietinsideout (2015), Beauty of Vietnamese Women (2019–2021), and Backwards in Time (2021). Most notably, her 2023 exhibition Ontology offered a contemplative return to the essence, where body, time and soul meet in silence.
The exhibition employed life-casting techniques moulding from real bodies to capture raw, authentic details: the creases of palms, the rise of collarbones, stretch marks across the chest, a slight quiver in the calves. These were preserved in plaster, resin, ceramic and lacquer, materials chosen for their endurance, yet saturated with emotional depth. The layout followed the arc of a woman’s life, with sculptures arranged by age, from 18 to 90, as a journey through time. Visitors did not enter to marvel at beauty, but to recognise something of themselves in each phase of life: past, present or still to come.
Above EXHIBITION OF THE ESSENCE: INSPIRING WOMEN
Nghiem Quynh Trang – Portraying the world through a female perspective
Front & Female 2025 honouree Nghiem Quynh Trang is a gifted Vietnamese director and screenwriter, currently living and working in Prague, Czech Republic. Though a graduate of the Academy of International Relations, she chose not to follow the diplomatic path, turning instead to the world of cinema. For her, filmmaking is not a leisurely pursuit, but a deeply personal calling. This mindset has shaped her creative path, leading to significant achievements: most notably Un Interrogatoire (An Interrogation), her graduation film from the EICAR School in Paris, where she earned a master’s degree in directing. The film won three major prizes at the 2011 YxineFF Film Festival: “Best Screenwriter”, “Best Actress”, and “Best Editing”.
Rather than confining herself to the role of independent director, she continued to broaden her creative scope, stepping into the roles of producer and co-writer for the project Cu Li Never Cries...
In particular, director Nghiem Quynh Trang currently serves as Artistic Director of the film Summer School, 2001. The work has captured attention among cinema lovers, been screened in Czech theatres, and selected for the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. She also held this role for the Czech-language version Letní škola, 2001, further reflecting the distinctive mark she leaves on the international film scene.
Read more: Yen Nguyen, CEO GA+: “Women can create a different and bold perspective in design”
Producer Nghiem Quynh Trang received the Best Actress award on behalf of People’s Artist Minh Chau at the Las Palmas Film Festival in Spain (photo: Nong Thon Viet)
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Le Giang – Searching for memories behind human traces
Le Giang does not follow trends, instead choosing an independent route shaped by research, reflection, and social critique. She is known as one of Vietnam’s emerging visual artists and is also the co-founder of Six Space, an independent art venue in Hanoi.
She studied Fine Arts Education at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts London. This strong academic background has helped form her distinctive visual language, melding traditional artistic finesse with the conceptual scope of contemporary practice.
In 2013, Le Giang returned to Vietnam and established Blossom Art House, a space dedicated to nurturing a visual arts community in Hanoi. Through a wide range of educational and appreciation programmes for all ages, the initiative fosters a deeper engagement with the arts. In 2015, she launched Six Space, aiming to offer fresh approaches to contemporary art. The venue serves as an open forum where the public meets directly with artists, cultural figures, and thinkers from diverse fields. Through exhibitions, workshops, talks, screenings and thematic discussions, Six Space steadily expands the possibilities of art while encouraging thoughtful dialogue and creative experimentation within urban life.
Not limited to one material, Le Giang experiments with a variety of forms such as glass, plaster, stone and coal. Each medium carries layers of meaning related to erosion, accumulation and displacement. Through these, she raises questions about the fragile place of humans within nature and explores the possibility of reimagining a post-human world through the traces we leave behind.
Her creative journey has taken her to numerous art spaces at home and abroad, with a series of notable exhibitions including Phantasmapolis at the Asian Art Biennial (Taiwan, 2021), Art Basel Hong Kong (2022), Future Fulfillment (solo exhibition at VCCA, 2022), Citizens of the Earth (Hanoi, 2020), Blue Water and Green Mountain (Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, 2020), Reflection (Hong Kong, 2019; Ho Chi Minh City, 2018), Remnants (Goethe Institute, 2017), Above and Below the Sky (Manzi, 2014), Reincarnate (Japan, 2013), Dreaming of Landscapes (Dream Art Space, 2020), GES-2 House of Culture; VAC Foundation (Moscow, 2025) and the 11th Asia Pacific Art Triennial of Contemporary Art (Brisbane, Australia, 2025).
The Peach Blossom Land (photo: legiangle.com)
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Through her own artistic language, Le Giang expands the role of female artists within Vietnamese contemporary art, creating new spaces for dialogue and inspiring younger generations.
Art is not only a reflection of the world, but also a way to rewrite how we perceive and live within it. For PSI, Le Giang and Nghiem Quynh Trang, art has become more than a space to display beauty or emotion: it is a platform to initiate dialogue, shift perceptions and open pathways for those who follow. They represent a generation of women committed with sensitivity, knowledge and faith in the power of beauty. We look forward to seeing the three artists at the Front & Female 2025 awards, taking place on 22 August.
Architect Chu Kim Duc: Creating the dream of “Right to Play” for Vietnamese children
Architect Chu Kim Duc is a leading figure in the creation of public spaces in Vietnam. She graduated from the Department of Planning at Hanoi University of Architecture in 2003, before continuing her studies with a Master’s in Garden History and Landscape Heritage at the Versailles School of Architecture in France.
In 2014, Chu Kim Duc and her colleagues launched Think Playgrounds, an initiative dedicated to securing the Right to Play by designing creative, child-friendly and environmentally sustainable public spaces. Their work promotes urban biodiversity and makes use of recycled materials. Over the past decade, Think Playgrounds has delivered more than 270 playgrounds across Vietnam, including many tailored for children with disabilities, providing safe and inclusive environments.
Architect Chu Kim Duc’s tireless contributions have been widely recognised. In 2020, the BBC named her among the 100 most influential women worldwide (BBC 100 Women 2020), for her advocacy of children’s right to play in Vietnam. Her awards also include the Third Prize for Recycled Art from UNESCO Vietnam (2018) and the APSIPA Asia Pacific Social Innovation Award (2022) in the Social Prosperity category.
About Front & Female 2025 Awards
Launched in March, Front & Female 2025 celebrates individuals—especially women—who drive positive change and promote women’s advancement. By highlighting achievements across diverse sectors, the awards showcase influential trailblazers, while sparking conversation and inspiring the wider community.
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