VietNam Life Style: exhibition

Showing posts with label exhibition. Show all posts

Monday, February 21, 2011

Art of embroidery on show

Single-thread: Handmade embroidery pieces are on display at the From a Stroke to a Thread exhibition by French artist Lionel Descostes. — VNS Photos Truong Vi

HA NOI — An exhibition presenting the work of French embroidery artist Lionel Descostes has opened at L'Espace, the French cultural centre in Ha Noi.

The exhibition, entitled From a Stroke to a Thread, showcases 40 handmade embroidery pieces on taffeta, made using a single-thread technique and the result of eight years' work by Descostes in Viet Nam.

"For me, eight years was a long process of fatigue and pressure," said Descostes. "But I love Vietnamese embroidery and always wanted to do something to preserve this traditional craft."

Descostes studied visual art and technique in France and decided to live in Viet Nam to pursue his love for the nation's traditional embroidery. He also hired hearing-impaired girls from local vocational training centres and trained them for six-nine months to do embroidery.

"The paintings represent my collective work with these Vietnamese girls, whom I found to be very talented and skillful embroiderers," said Descost at the exhibition opening.

He expressed the view that traditional embroidery could find its place within contemporary art and said that the exhibition would open a new vision for visitors on an popular but little understood artform.

The exhibition runs until March 4 at 24 Trang Tien Street, Ha Noi. — VNS

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Photo exhibition of Mexico opened

HA NOI – A photo exhibition, Mexico, Country of Colours, opened in Ha Noi today, hosted by the Mexican embassy.

The exhibition is by author and photographer Ricardo Espinosa and features 30 large photos (1.2m by 1.7m) taken during the past 10 years.

The exhibition allowed viewers to feel the intensity and the power of the natural scenery, monuments, architecture, art, festivals and the popular traditions of Mexico, said Mexican Embassy charge d' affairs Sergio Rivadeneyra Martell.

Espinosa was born in Mexico City in 1958, studied Graphic Design in the Universidad Autinoma Metropolitana in Mexico City and worked in photography for more than 25 years. He has been professor of photography in the Universidad Iberoamericana since 1985.

Espinosa does corporate, advertisement and commercial photography and is director of Spanish-language photography portals: www.antecamara.com.mx. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions in Mexico.

"The panoramic photography work I have been doing for the last 10 years is mainly focused on interior and exterior spaces in Mexico," Espinosa said.

"I do not see it only as a record of the landscape or description of these places, but also as the portrait of inner personal landscapes. The archaeology, the deserts, the shorelines, the mountains are somehow self portraits, moods and spiritual searching," he said in a statement.

The photos have been exhibited in Korea, Ulan Bator, Shanghai and Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore.

The colours of Mexico will be on show at the National Library of Viet Nam, 31 Trang Thi Street, Ha Noi, until next Friday.

Also on the occasion, a book collection of literature and academic works by Mexican artists and scholars will be presented to the National Library of Viet Nam through the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – VNS

Monday, February 14, 2011

Tay Son dynasty antiques on display

Rebel shot: Visitors look at the 17th century bronze cannon found in Thi Nai lake. — VNS Photo Van Dat

HCM CITY — More than 400 rare antique items dating back to the Tay Son dynasty (1778-1802) are on display at an exhibition that in HCM City.

The exhibition at the Viet Nam History Museum features terracotta items like tiles, bricks, vases, plates and cups as well as several official documents including letters and royal decrees signed by Emperor Quang Trung.

The display also has ancient coins and weapons including swords, bayonets and a huge cannon found at Thi Nai Lagoon, considered very rare by collectors. Some spoons and bows found on the riverbed in the Rach Gam-Xoai Mut area in the Mekong Delta also on show.

Organisers said many of the objects are being exhibited for the first time.

Nine museums and historical sites nationwide have lent their antique collections for this exhibition as have six collectors in HCM City and Dong Nai Province.

Although the dynasty's reign was short-lived at 32 years, the Tay Son peasant rebellion that crowned it is a landmark event in Vietnamese history.

Even though the succeeding Nguyen dynasty forbade the use of materials and the intellectual heritage of the Tay Son dynasty, destroying many of its vestiges, the material remains of that period have not disappeared completely.

The exhibition, titled The Eternal Halo, celebrates the 240th anniversary of the Tay Son Uprising (1771- 2011) and 222nd anniversary of Quang Trung's victory over the Chinese Qing invaders in 1789.

The exhibition at Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in District 1 will remain open until October. — VNS

Friday, January 28, 2011

Photos spotlight tourist attractions

HCM CITY — Two hundred photographs by journalists working for tourism publications are on display at an exhibition that opened in HCM City on Wednesday.

Sac Xuan Du Lich 2011 (Spring Colours in Tourism) marks the first anniversary of the HCM City Photographers Club, and has colour and black-and-white photos taken last year by 21 members depicting landscapes, people, and other images that attracted the photographers.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City Culture, Sport and Tourism Department, thanked them for their contribution in showcasing the multi-colours and diversity of HCM City and also the country to both domestic and international audiences.

The exhibition, at the Journalists Association's office in District 1, will go on until February 10.

Last year club members held a photo exhibition in February to mark the 1,000th anniversary of capital Ha Noi last year and another themed HCM City – 24 Hours in April.

An exhibition titled Truong Sa Ngay Nay (Truong Sa Nowadays) by Hoang Chi Hung, the club's head, last August raised VND200 million (US$10,000) for soldiers on Truong Sa (Spratly) Island. — VNS

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Exhibition focuses on ever-changing Indochina

Everyday people: An image by Sebastien Laval displayed in the exhibition Communities Through Time.

HA NOI — A photo exhibition by French photographer Sebastien Laval, entitled Communities Through Time, has opened at L'Espace, the French cultural centre in Ha Noi.

The black-and-white photos portray the life and culture of people in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, as well as Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Luang Prabang in Laos. Laval's treatment of floating houses, flickering cooking fires, the innocent smiles of kids, the austere expression on the face of an ethnic man, or a tobacco pipe between a woman's lips, captures the enigma that endures in this region.

The photos include portraits and depict both traditional customs and changes in people's lives. Images in opposition, such as traditional clothes and satellite dishes, old roofs and asphalt roads, reflect the changes in the lives of the ethnic people. The images have no titles, allowing the viewer to freely think, feel and discover the characters, to "try to meet them, talk to them, look at them and understand them," Laval said.

"The way I take photos is not to tell people that I am taking photos," Laval said. "I make no arrangement for the images."

One morning, Laval said he came to a Lao village and met a young girl carrying her brother in front of her house. By the afternoon, she had become acquainted with Laval, who was able to capture a photo of her sitting on sand with a radiant smile.

"If I hadn't come closer to her, I wouldn't have had that smile," he said. "I realised that people still speak and have a mutual understanding even if they don't use the same language."

Born in 1973, Laval discovered photography when he was given a camera by his father. He moved to Paris to work as an assistant for a photo studio in 1992 and subsequently began working as a professional in Poitiers.

Laval visited Viet Nam for the first time in 1995 and has accumulated thousands of images of people in about 20 Vietnamese ethnic groups, which he intends to publish in a book.

The current exhibition runs through February 11 at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, in Ha Noi. — VNS

Friday, January 21, 2011

VN treasure displayed in S Korea

SEOUL — The South Korean National Palace Museum is hosting a special exhibition entitled the Treasures of the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty to offer insight into the history and culture of Viet Nam through a pan-Asian perspective and the shared culture of the two countries.

The exhibition features 165 relics and artefacts dating from the 19th century and photographs and videos of historical places in Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).

The National Palace Museum's director, Chang Jong-soo, stressed the cultural similarities between the two countries. He said the event would offer South Korean people a rare chance to understand more about the last imperial rulers of Viet Nam.

The exhibition lasts until February 16 and will move to Gyeongju city, Gyeongsangbuk Province for another display from February 28 to May 15.

Coastal town targets tourism growth

QUANG NINH — A workshop on Tuesday discussed the promotion of tourist sites in Quang Yen Town, Yen Hung District, the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Quang Yen Town is a historic urban area, which acted as a military, political and economic centre over several centuries.

Flowers, drinks fest planned for Tet

HA NOI — A festival of Spring Flowers and Drinks will be organised next Tuesday to celebrate Tet (the Lunar New Year).

It will introduce traditional customs and feature arts performances and games for visitors such as the traditional dress show, calligraphy exhibition and a photo exhibition of lotus flowers, the top candidate for the title "Viet Nam National Flower."

The exhibition will also show wines and spirits made by modern and traditional methods, with rewards for the most popular.

The annual event will feature a market-day of the mountainous province of Ha Giang with local specialities, cuisine and festivities of the area's ethnic people such as a pan-pipe, dance and folk duet.

This year's festivities will run at the Ha Noi's Viet Nam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre, located at 2 Hoa Lu Street, until the end of January.

Best of Ha Noi show goes south

HCM CITY — A collection of works chosen from last month's National Fine Arts Exhibition in Ha Noi is on show in HCM City.

On display are 286 paintings, graphics, sculptures, and installation works created between 2006 and 2010 that reflect contemporary life, history, and traditional culture.

The exhibition, which opened yesterday at the HCM City Fine Arts Museum, Pho Duc Chinh, District 1, will run until February 12.

Later it will move to Da Nang.

World-class sommelier to hold class

HA NOI — Evan Goldstein, the eighth and youngest American to pass the prestigious Master Sommelier Examination, will hold a class and a wine-pairing dinner at the Hilton Ha Noi Opera Hotel on tonight.

He will talk on American vineyards, vintage and wines during the events.

Goldstein is president and chief education officer of Full Circle Wine Solutions, a global beverage education firm. He is also one of the most prolific food and wine authors who has contributed to several specialised magazines in various nations.

Entrance to the class and dinner is VND570,000 (US$28) or VND1,750,000 ($87).

Tuan Ngoc to belt out pop classics

HA NOI — Vietnamese-American singer Tuan Ngoc's performance at Ha Noi's 2B Pham Ngoc Thach Nightclub tonight will feature contemporary and pop music, ballads, and romantic songs.

He will sing popular romantic numbers like Ao Lua Ha Dong (Ha Dong Silk Dress), Cay Dan Bo Quen (The Guitar That I Left), Thuong Ve Mien Trung (Love for the Central Region), and Ve Day Nghe Em (Returning) composed by Ngo Thuy Mien, Tran Quang Loc, and Minh Ky.

There will also be Trinh Cong Son favourites like Ha Trang (White Summer).

Ngoc will be supported by a professional band led by Nguyen Quang.

The singer, popular in both Viet Nam and the US, has performed in several countries with large ethnic Vietnamese populations like Canada and France. — VNS

Flowers, drinks fest planned for Tet

HA NOI - A festival of Spring Flowers and Drinks will be organised next Tuesday to celebrate Tet (the Lunar New Year).

The festival will be held in Ha Noi's Viet Nam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre. It will introduce traditional customs and feature arts performances and games for visitors such as the traditional long dress show, calligraphy exhibition and a photo exhibition of lotus flowers, the top candidate for the title Viet Nam National Flower.

The exhibition will also show wines and spirits made by modern and traditional methods, with rewards for the most popular.

As many as 50 entrepreneurs will take part in the festival to introduce products served for Tet, such as decorative objects, ornamental trees and consumer goods.

This year the annual event will feature a market-day of the mountainous province of Ha Giang with local specialities, cuisine and festivities of the area's ethnic people such as a pan-pipe, dance and folk duet.

This year's festivities will run at the centre, located at 2 Hoa Lu Street, until the end of January. - VNS

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Vietnamese treasures shine in Seoul's heart

The 19th-century throne of the Crown Prince of the Nguyen Dynasty

Photo: Korea Time

Vietnam and Korea seem to have nothing particular in common due to their geographical distance. But upon closer inspection, we can find that the two countries share many things — Confucian culture, colonial occupation and Chinese influence in history.

In modern times, the two have cooperated in economic exchanges since they established diplomatic relations in 1992.

In an effort to offer insight into the history and culture of Korea through a pan-Asian perspective and highlight the shared culture of the two countries, the National Palace Museum of Korea is holing a special exhibition titled “Treasures of the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty” through Feb. 6.

The exhibition features 165 relics and artifacts dating from the dynasty and photographs and videos of historical places in Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty in association with the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum in Vietnam.

The Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last Vietnamese dynasty, relocated its capital city from Hanoi in the northern part of the country to Hue in the central region, to unite the cultures of the North and the South within the Confucian cultural sphere and established its borders to what is now present-day Vietnam. The dynasty was under the strong cultural influence of China.

The exhibition hall greets visitors with its glamorous throne of the Crown Prince from the 19th century set front and center, which symbolizes the nobility and dignity of the dynasty.

The exhibition also displays the relics used in shrines and rituals as the country is a Confucian society due to the strong Chinese influence. The rulers succeeded the traditions of previous dynasties and legitimized their authority by building the Nam Giao Esplanade, the Xa Tac Altar and the Temple of Literature.

The dynasty built a slew of shrines such as the Mieu and Thai Mieu within the Imperial Citadel of Hue. The exhibition features a tripod incense burner from 1925, along with a ceremonial sword and instruments used in various rituals.

robe

The middle section of the exhibition features royal attire of the dynasty that shows the styles established at the Qing royal court. The relics, which are similar to those from China, were categorized into ceremonial, formal and casual attire. The imperial family wore boots embroidered with symbolic patterns such as dragons or phoenixes, along with distinguishable hats or gold coronets depending on the ceremony. In everyday life, they wore silk shoes adorned with pearls and jade or gold accessories inscribed with a variety of titles and verses.

In the later part of the exhibition hall, sophisticated craftworks of the dynasty are on display. Items such as silver and lacquer wares were manufactured by the masters of the times and patterns representing the wearers’ dignity were also delicately engraved. Most ceramic pieces were imported while some were custom-made with a taste of the Nguyen court.

An impressive part of the exhibition is the digital reconstruction of the Hue Citadel conducted by KAIST’s Graduate School of Cultural Technology. The 3D reconstruction of the citadel can be seen in the exhibition hall to show the former splendor of the dynasty.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

From Poland with nostalgia

To paint a nation: Viet Nam by Vietnamese-Polish artist Hoang Ngoc Huu is being displayed at his solo Hoi Tuong (Reminiscence) painting exhibition in HCM City. — VNS Photo Duc Ngoc

HCM CITY — The memories of his homeland and his love for it suffuse the works of Vietnamese-Polish artist Hoang Ngoc Huu whose works are on display at an exhibition in HCM City.

"I am happy to have my first ever solo exhibition in my home country," Huu says.

Hoi Tuong (Reminiscence), organised by the Lotus Gallery and HCM City Exhibition Centre, features 66 oil paintings he created back in Poland.

"Painting is both my soul and expression of love to the motherland and my family there," the 70-year-old artist said.

Many of the works are simply named – Viet Nam, Thieu Nu Hue (Hue Woman) and Le Hoi Hai Ba Trung (Festival Memorising Trung Sisters).

He also pays tribute to his new life in Poland through paintings like Thieu Nu Ba Lan (Polish Woman).

Huu, who was born in Hue, moved to Poland in 1969 to continue his studies in shipbuilding and went on to marry a local woman.

In 1983, instead of writing a diary, he began to draw to register his nostalgia for his homeland.

His works have been displayed at several solo and group exhibitions in Poland, German, Russia, Japan, and China.

The exhibition, at the HCM City Exhibition Centre, 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, runs until next Thursday. — VNS

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Book show welcomes Party Congress

HCMCITY— A special book exhibition has opened at HCM City's Nguyen Hue Bookstore to welcome the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam that officially begins in Ha Noi today.

The exhibition, featuring more than 1,500 titles in different fields, attracted many readers, young and old, to its opening ceremony yesterday.

The display has three major themes: The Party's Documents; The Life and Work of President Ho Chi Minh; and Historical Events during the American War in Viet Nam.

Around 10,000 books cover events and heroes of different periods over the 81 years since the Party's inception, according to the HCM City Books Distribution Company (Fahasa), a member of the event's organising board.

Participating in the exhibition are leading printers like the HCM City General Publishing House, National Politics Publishing House, Tre (Youth) Publishing House and Thanh Nien (Young People) Publishing House.

The Culture-Theatre Publishing House's Hanh Khuc Giai Phong (Liberation March) is one of the exhibition's highlighted books.

The book is a research work compiled and edited by Lu Nhat Vu, Le Giang and Le Anh Trung, three of the city's veteran composers and art critics.

Hanh Khuc Giai Phong displays nearly 600 songs and 54 works by musicians and authors during the 1954-75 period. They creatively capture the people's thirst for national independence as well as their love for President Ho Chi Minh and soldiers.

The Tre Publishing House introduces one of its bestsellers of last year, Tran Thai Binh's Vo Nguyen Giap -Hao Khi Tram Nam (General Vo Nguyen Giap - Magnanimity for a Hundred Years).

The book portrays the life and military career of Vo Nguyen Giap, focusing on the General's outstanding contributions to the victories against French and American aggressors.

Organisers said they hope the exhibition would help people, particularly young readers, learn more about the country's heroic history, the Party and its causes and victories.

Nearly 1,000 books will be presented to soldiers working for the Border Guard Command, they said.

The exhibition will remain open at 40 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, from 9am to 10pm until January 16. Entrance is free. — VNS

Friday, January 7, 2011

Museum exhibits 1,000 years of handicrafts

HA NOI — An exhibition of 100 historic craft items is on display in Ha Noi in an exhibition entitled A Connection between the Past and the Present. The exhibition includes tools, musical instruments, copperware, ceramics, wood carvings and stonework from the feudal era to the present day.

The artefacts were selected from collections of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum and UNESCO's Viet Nam Centre for Antiquities Preservation and Study. The exhibition will run through Monday at the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ha Noi.

17th century Truong Luy rampart to be recognised

QUANG NGAI — Documentation of the Truong Luy heritage site will be completed by next month and submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for recognition as a vestige of national historical and cultural heritage.

Truong Luy, built in the 17th century, is one of Asia's largest ramparts. It runs north to south for about 200km through the southern provinces of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh, and along the Truong Son mountain range.

In a workshop held on Wednesday, authorities from the areas around the ramparts committed to protect the site, which has played an important role in transport, military affairs and exchange between ethnic groups in the region for many centuries.

University hosts literary discussion, exhibition

HA NOI — Writers and publishers will meet with students today for a literary discussion and book exhibition at Hoa Binh University in Ha Noi.

On the occasion, readers will have an opportunity to buy books at a discount, and the university's library will receive a donation of 1,000 books from publishing houses.

HCM City choir prepares special New Year treat

HCM CITY— The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra's (HBSO)'s choir will put on a special performance featuring world famous choral and dance pieces this Sunday, offering a New Year treat for music fans.

Solo singers Tran Duy Linh, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga and Pham Trang will lead the HBSO's choir as they perform American, Mexican and Ecuadorian folk songs including The Winter Is Wide, Varija de Barn and Celito Lindo Prende de Vela.

The choir will also perform Leonard Bernstein's Maria from West Side Story, Andrew L.Webber's Don't Cry for Me Argentina and George Gershwin's Choral Selections from Porgy and Bess.

Tran Nhat Minh, a graduate of the Tchaikovsky Music Conservatory in Moscow will be the chorusmaster.

The show will end with a mixed repertoire of characteristic dances that features a series of dances from Russia, Span and Mexico.

The show will begin at 8pm on Sunday, at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1. Tickets, costing VND150,000 (US$7) to 250,000, can be bought at the theatre's box office. — VNS

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

‘Sharp' exhibition hits the right notes

Taking a breather: Nghi ngoi (Resting), an oil painting by Luong Luu Bien, is one of 26 works by seven artists on display at the Dau Thang exhibition at HCM City Fine Arts University's Applied Arts Centre.

HCM CITY — Seven HCM City artists born in the 1970s display their artistic evolution in a group show of paintings and installation works at the Dau Thang (Sharp) exhibition at the HCM City Fine Arts University Applied Arts Centre.

The name of the show, which contains 26 paintings and a sculpture, refers to a music notation that indicates a note is higher in pitch by a semitone (half step).

"It is an example of a difference in creation, meaning differences to yourself, and differences between you and others," say artists.

Artist Bui Tien Tuan said he was affected by the beauty of women, which offered him "unlimited sources of inspiration".

The 39-year-old artist's five paintings depict women in poses of innocence, sexiness and assertion.

His paintings contain traditional Vietnamese material, including silk, which is often used to express the beauty of landscapes and inner feelings.

But Tuan uses the material to highlight his ideas about the arts and women.

Tuan, a graduate of the HCM City Fine Arts University, won the silver prize at the National Fine Arts Exhibition in Ha Noi last month.

He has had several solo and group exhibitions in Ha Noi, HCM City and Seoul.

Another artist, Luong Luu Bien, has five oil paintings that depict the inner life of people.

The exhibition also highlights acrylic and oil paintings by Nguyen Son, Vo Duy Don and Phuong Quoc Tri.

Their colleague, Mac Hoang Thuong, displays seven portrait sketches, while La Huy uses wax and newspaper to create his installation work.

All seven artists have held successful exhibitions in Viet Nam this year.

The exhibition at the university's Applied Arts Centre is at No 5 Phan Dang Luu Street and runs until December 31. — VNS

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

South Korea hosts Vietnamese art exhibition

SEOUL — The biggest ever exhibition of Vietnamese contemporary art is taking place at the Fine Arts Museum of Gwangju City, the Republic of Korea (RoK), until February 6, 2011.

The exhibition themed Viet Nam Scenery and Spirit – Close up the Past, Looking to the Future introduces nearly 50 works of outstanding contemporary artists selected from collections of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum and the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association.

The painters include masters graduating from the Indochina Fine Arts College, which was established in 1924 and is the precursor of the Viet Nam College of Fine Arts, and well-known painters of next generations.

The paintings, which use a wide range of materials from oil paint, lacquer to silk, are arranged based on historical periods of Viet Nam from the 40s of the previous century to the first years of the 21st century. They introduce Vietnamese landscapes, people and their production life, traditional customs, as well as the country's resistance wars.

The exhibition reserves a solemn place for paintings on the theme of President Ho Chi Minh.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Tran Trong Toan underlined that the paintings to some extend reflect the history, culture, traditions, spiritual and material life, resistance wars and national construction of Vietnamese people.

He added the exhibition shows Vietnamese people's spirit and goodwill to befriend other nations for peace, independence and prosperity.

A representative of Gwangju city highlighted the positive achievements of the two countries' relations and the development of the Vietnamese community in the RoK. He said the exhibition would be a breakthrough for the two countries' cultural exchange activities, thus boosting their mutual understanding.

According to him, the organisation of the Viet Nam exhibition is one of Gwangju's efforts to become a centre for Asian cultural exchange. — VNS

Saturday, December 18, 2010

VN's first insect photo exhibition opens

HA NOI — The country's first ever photo exhibition of insects is on display in Ha Noi offering a closer look at Viet Nam's anthropological population.

Co-organised by the Viet Nam Nature Museum and the Italian Embassy, the exhibition has gathered over 200 photos of insects from across the country taken by researcher Vu Van Lien and Italian photographer Saolo Bambi.

Each panel features a characteristic of the insect life in an artistic style although they were initially taken purely for scientific research purposes.

There are also nine photos of typical forests throughout Viet Nam, located at various different altitudes from the southern island of Phu Quoc to Fansipan, the peak of Indochina, in the northernwestern province of Lao Cai.

The exhibition aims to celebrate 2010 as the first year of international biological diversity initiated by the United Nations.

"The exhibition also has a further purpose of promoting the protection of biological diversity as well as our living environment for now and for future generations," said Professor Chau Van Minh, chairman of the Viet Nam Science and Technology Institute.

The exhibition will be on display at Exhibition House, 45 Trang Tien Street, until tomorrow.

Concert features Tchaikovsky works

HCM CITY — The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will present an evening of Tchaikovsky's music this weekend.

Beginning with Slanovic March in B-flat minor, Op.31, a popular work which highlights the spirit of Russian people, the concert will continue with Symphony No 5 in E Minor, op.64, which was written in 1988.

The work includes four chapters that comprise Russian folk and European music. It has been performed many times by prestigious orchestras worldwide.

The evening will finish with ballet performances by HBSO's young dancers, including Phuc Hung, Hong Chau, Phi Diep and Diem Trang – four talents who have helped infuse new ideas into traditional Vietnamese dance.

They will perform five extracts from popular Russian and French dances like Diana&Acteon, Chopiniana, The Flowers and Le Corsaire.

The concert, conducted by Tran Vuong Thach, will begin at 8pm tomorrow at the HCM City Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1.

Tickets priced from VND20,000 (for students) to 200,000 (US$10) can be bought at the theatre.

Sculptures celebrate origins of life

HCM CITY — Nineteen sculptures symbolising rice, seeds, and embryos, which their creator Bui Hai Son considers the original source of humans, are on display at an exhibition in HCM City.

Originarium (in Latin characters), or "The Origin," on at the HCM City Fine Arts University's Applied Arts Gallery, displays sculptures in bronze, wood, glass, and some other materials.

Son's works are displayed in two separate sections – one features just sculptures and in the other several works have been put together to create installation works.

For instance, Nguon (The Origin) and Lua (Rice) are among the highlights in the first section while they have also been put together along with more works to form Phuong Nam (The South).

"I spent at least a year working on my pieces, which depict Vietnamese culture and lifestyle," Son said. Nguon, representing a grain of rice and made from wood and bronze, is three metres long.

His colleagues and he faced challenges in exhibiting their works because of the giant size of most of them, he said. "I wanted a big open space to display my works and finally settled for the Applied Arts Gallery."

Son, born in An Giang Province in 1957, graduated from the Fine Arts University in 1987. He has displayed his works in many group exhibitions and fine-arts festivals at home and abroad. Last year he was invited to the Miyazaki International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture in Japan.

Originarium will be on show at 52 Phan Dang Luu Street, Binh Thanh District, until Monday. — vns

Friday, December 17, 2010

VN's first insect photo exhibition opens

HA NOI - The country's first ever photo exhibition of insects is on display in Ha Noi offering a closer look at Viet Nam's anthropological population.

Each panel features a characteristic of the insect life in an artistic style although they were initially taken purely for scientific research purposes.

The exhibition aims to celebrate 2010 as the first year of international biological diversity initiated by the United Nations.

The exhibition will be on display at Exhibition House, 45 Trang Tien Street, until Sunday. - VNS

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Finnish artist fashions playful works in metal

Steely: Works by Maritta Nurmi at the exhibition.

HA NOI — A playful exhibition by Finnish artist Maritta Nurmi entitled After the End of Art Anything Goes, has opened at Art Viet Nam Gallery in Ha Noi.

Nurmi, a visual artist born in Finland, has been based in Ha Noi since 1994 and is well-known for her installation art. Nurmi's background both in art and in natural sciences, together with her experience of Asia, lends her work a multilayered and multicultural feel.

The artist is famed for her richly detailed work in silver, aluminium and copper leaf on canvas. In this playful exhibition, that combines art and fashion, she has managed to add text to textile to accentuate her works' effervescent surfaces.

Freed from the constraints of making art as it is currently known, Nurmi explores all sorts of media and objects, elevating the everyday and mundane into what we may call the zone of the sublime.

Large round aluminium trays used for steaming rice are suddenly transformed into whirlpools of flora and line; small wooden stools, playfully patterned, spring from the floor to the wall, while their corresponding tea tables are transformed into colourful, functional artworks.

Stainless steel work tables are essays in structure and line; dragons and Buddhas appear faintly in their mirrored surfaces, transporting the object and the viewer into a fanciful world.

Nurmi uses images of roses and repeats them many times in her artworks. "Rose means everything," she explains. "I love roses and I think people do."

In the midst of all the playfulness, Nurmi takes her ideas into yet another dimension. Inspired by the colourful textiles of the people of Benin, in West Africa, where she was an artist in residence in 2009, she had fabrics of her artworks made in India, which she then transformed into her own eclectic mode of fashion – Couture Adorable de Maritta.

Stripes and circles, angles and lines, colour and pattern all collide into a splendid kaleidoscope of fun and frolic, a true testimony to the function of art as art and art as function wherein "anything goes."

"Nurmi's artworks really surprise and attract me," says Pham Trung, lecturer at the Viet Nam Fine Arts University.

"She is an artist of liberalism. She breaks all old orders to create the art of her own. However, she is influenced by Eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism. She stands at the border of many cultures."

Nurmi has exhibited her works in many countries including Finland, Germany, the UK, the US, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

The exhibition will run until January 7 at Art Viet Nam Gallery, 7 Nguyen Khac Nhu Street, Ha Noi. — VNS

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

War memorabilia goes on display in Ha Noi

Shot down: Belongings of US airmen are displayed at the exhibition. — VNA/VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI — Many never return from war. Through keepsakes and photographs, however, it is possible to keep their memory alive.

To help us somehow come to terms with the great sacrifice made by those who died in the war-torn 20th century, the Museum of Military History in Ha Noi has launched an exhibition of war memorabilia.

On display are 1,033 personal possessions and war memorabilia from 11,000 items donated over the last three years.

The museum's campaign, launched in July 2008, received the support of surviving war veterans and martyrs' relatives. US veterans and their families also donated precious keepsakes in response to the appeal.

Major-General Le Ma Luong, the museum's former director, said it was vital to preserve the memories of those who lost their lives in Viet Nam's various campaigns so that younger generations could fully appreciate the great sacrifice made by their forebears in the name of peace and freedom.

"The campaign holds significant social meaning as it highlights Viet Nam's glorious feats of arms and teaches us to respect those who devoted their lives to the revolution," Luong says.

General Vo Nguyen Giap was the first person to respond to the museum's appeal, donating many of his most precious war memorabilia.

Memorabilia from the French and American wars was donated by martyrs' relatives and veterans themselves such as former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, General Pham Van Tra and Colonel Nguyen Van Ich. Their private letters to their relatives are also on display.

Former American serviceman Henry Prunier, 86, donated 200 documents, pictures and videos to the collection – the largest contribution by a foreign veteran. Prunier was a member of the US intelligence Deer Team, who answered Ho Chi Minh's call to join the war against the Japanese in Tan Trao in northern Tuyen Quang Province in 1945.

Even though the personal belongings are intrinsically of little value, visitors to the exhibition will be able to understand more fully what the dead and their surviving relatives had to endure in the name of peace. One such item is the bicycle belonging to Lang Si Thuy.

Thuy was injured in battle and sent to a military hospital in central Thanh Hoa Province. Even before the young soldier's wounds had healed he begged to be allowed to rejoin his comrades at the front in Quang Tri, where the battle was very fierce. Despite doctors' objection, he discharged himself from hospital and borrowed his sister the bicycle, which he pedalled 450km to Quang Tri to be with his companions. He left the bicycle at a local woman's house in Vinh Linh District and told her he would come back to collect it after the war. If he was killed he told the woman his sister would collect the bicycle for him, and he left his sister's name and address. His sister later collected the bicycle on her dead brother's behalf.

Accounts such as these have been published in two books by Cong An Nhan Dan (Pubic Security) Publishing House.

The exhibition organisers – the Museum of Military History and Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper under sponsorship of North Asia Bank – will also be granting prizes to the winners of the War Memorabilia Writing Contest launched by Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper that has been running since April.

The exhibition's closing ceremony on December 19 will be broadcast live on VTV1. — VNS

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Writing contest praises quiet achievements

HA NOI — An annual writing contest named Modest but Noble Examples has been staged for the third time.

Entries can be sent to Quan Doi Nhan Dan Newspaper, 7 Phan Dinh Phung Street, Ha Noi by December, 2011.

In the past two years, the contest received thousands of entries from professional and amateur writers. The organising board printed three books entitled Modest but Noble Examples that includes 89 stories that reveal the quiet contributions and sacrifices modest people have made for their communities and for society as a whole.

On the occasion, an art performance will be held tomorrow evening at the Ho Chi Minh Presidential Palace vestige area where President Ho commended people for their good deeds.

It will be broadcast live on VTV2 and VTC5. Audiences will see the work of those who've sacrificed for the good of others and who've captured the beauty of Vietnamese morality.

"The examples mentioned include workers, clergy, teachers, traders, war invalids, retirees, intellectuals and ethnic people," says Major General Le Phuc Nguyen, head of the organising board.

"They work quietly, willing to sacrifice their own interests for the good of society. They are classic examples of the patriotism, tolerance and kindness of the Vietnamese."

‘Amateur music' clubs boom in Dong Thap

DONG THAP — Around 200 don ca tai tu (amateur music) clubs, with a total of 2,200 members, are active in the southern province of Dong Thap, according to the provincial museum.

Clubs often compose their own songs and accompany themselves on musical instruments, singing songs of praise to President Ho Chi Minh, the country and the lives of the people. The art is being surveyed for possible recognition as intangible heritage of mankind which should be preserved and developed.

Festival turns tea into art and industry

LAM DONG — The Tea Culture Festival in the city of Bao Loc in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong will take place on December 25-28.

The festival aims to encourage tea production in the region and widen the market for tea products of the region both domestically and overseas. Festival events will include photo exhibitions, workshops, competitions to pick up tea leaves, painting, singing and folk games.

Long Bien exhibition shows for one night only

HA NOI — A unique exhibition featuring the lives of Long Bien residents will be held in Ha Noi tonight.

Long Bien Picture Show brings together over 140 photographs and four films about the neighbourhood underneath and around Long Bien Bridge.

The words were produced over three months by photographers Boris Zuliani, Tran Xiu Thuy Khanh, Barnaby Churchill Steele and Jamie Maxtone-Graham and filmmakers Tran Thi Anh Phuong, Pham Thu Hang, Do Van Hoang and Tran Thanh Hien.

"The surprise of the exhibition is the richness and depth of the films made by the Vietnamese filmmakers. They are all profoundly complex but also highly enjoyable musings on the people, the streets and the street life of this area, and they take the entire exhibition to a level that I had not dared hope for," said Jamie Maxtone Graham, curator of the exhibition.

The exhibition will be held at the Hoan Kiem District's Sport Centre, 225 Hong Ha Road from 6pm to 9pm. Entry to this outdoor exhibition is free. — VNS

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Exhibition of two generations

Exhibition sends a message of unity

An art exhibition named “Sisters” by Vu Bach Hoa and Vu Bach Lien will be held in Exhibition House 17 Ngo Quyen Street, Hanoi till December 17.

Sisters Vu Bach Hoa and Vu Bach Lien will bring to the exhibition two different styles of two different generations. The elder sister – Vu Bach Hoa (born in 1959) lived through the war time. Her art depicts tranquility, a simple love of peaceful times and the beauty of daily life.

The younger sister – Vu Bach Lien (born in 1976) expresses her ideas through digital art using paper, sculpture, lithography on stone, aluminum and digital photos. Most of her art works are about the relationship between women and children.

*An art exhibition called Dong Bao by Pham Huy Thong is at the Bui Gallery, 23 Ngo Van So Street, Hanoi till January 2.

On display are 12 paintings made of oil on canvas, retracing the nation’s history. The artist uses iconic images of Vietnam from the wars and historical turning points, and places them in a new context.

Dong Bao refers to the creation myth of the Vietnamese people which literally means “from the same womb of Mother Au Co.”

The artist’s message is one of unity which reminds Vietnamese that they are blood brothers and sisters and that they should always love, care for and respect each other.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Lacquer exhibition explores dualities

Two or three: Que Huong (Homeland), a lacquer triptych by Vietnamese-German artist Khai Doan, is displayed at HCM City's Fine Arts Museum.

HCM CITY — Vietnamese-German artist Khai Doan's lacquer exhibition has opened in HCM City at the Museum of Fine Arts.

The Dipolar exhibit displays 30 lacquer works featuring images of cities and family photos, and motifs of Dong Ho traditional paintings, including the Dam Cuoi Chuot (Rats' Wedding), Hung Dua (Picking Coconut).

As part of the theme, his works examine the concepts of near and far, young and old, familiar and strange, and abstract and concrete.

However, the contrary elements exist peacefully in his works as in the triptych paintings titled Que Huong (Motherland).

The work has the elements of water, tree roots and earth, representing Viet Nam where he was born, according to Khai. The colours of Germany's flag, black, red and yellow, are also prominent.

Khai says he wonders whether people can have more than one homeland.

In Dipolar, Khai uses traditional Vietnamese lacquer techniques, with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl to highlight depth through multiple layers of paint and sanding.

During the exhibition, the artist and his team will offer a demonstration on lacquerware techniques used in his works.

Khai, a graduate of fine arts and design in Germany, is currently living and working in HCM City.

He has studied the use of lacquer as an art medium for more than seven years.

His first exhibition in Viet Nam titled Joint Venture was held in Ha Noi and HCM City in 2005.

The HCM City exhibition, sponsored by the German Consulate General in the city, remains open at the Fine Arts Museum at 97A Pho Duc Chinh St in District 1 until December 15. — VNS

Painters show works inspired by nature, nostalgia

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