Hanoi to host Poetry Day 2014

The Hanoi Poetry Day 2013 at the Temple of Literature.

Hanoi’s famous Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) will host the 12th Vietnamese Poetry Day on February 14 (the 15th day of the first lunar month).

The Vietnam Writers’ Association has announced this year’s poetry day will be themed “Nation’s Spring – From Dien Bien to Truong Sa”.

The event celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory (1954–2014) and affirms national sovereignty.

Poetry lovers from all over Vietnam are expected to attend, including 80 Vietnam Writers’ Association members representing seven cities and provinces and 28 poetry clubs based in Hanoi.

The organising board has asked provinces and cities to organise local Vietnamese Poetry Day events.

An Alliance of Arts and Literature Associations of Vietnam delegation has scheduled a visit to Dien Bien and a March 13th poetry festival to mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the Dien Bien Phu campaign.

Folk market features tasty treats

A five-day traditional Tet folk market opened on Wednesday in Ha Noi's Long Bien District, selling hundreds of Vietnamese specialities from throughout the country.

Items for sale include many varieties of jams and sugar-coated preserves, such as kumquat and wampee fruits, as well bun oc (noodles and snails) and sweetened porridge, including suong sa hat luu.

While visiting the fair, the public can participate in calligraphy contests, as well as making lanterns, masks, paper flowers, or playing rural games and enjoying traditional arts, such as ca tru (ceremonial singing) and cheo (traditional opera). Those at the fair can also stroll through displays of peak and bonsai trees.

Organised by Vinhomes Riverside and Quan An Ngon restaurant system, the market takes place in the Vinhomes Riverside urban area, Hoa Hong Road, until Sunday.

Buddhist art shown in HCMC

An exhibition showcasing Buddhist artworks and antiques opened on Wednesday as part of celebrations of the upcoming Lunar New Year in HCM City's Pho Quang Pagoda.

Xuan Dong Phuong (Oriental Spring) has 300 paintings, photos, sculptures, and antiques, all of them created or owned by more than 30 Vietnamese and foreign artists, collectors, and researchers.

A highlight is a book of sutras in the Khmer language written on buong leaves given by the UNESCO club for Vietnamese antique research and collection.

The mid-19th century book is being exhibited publicly for the first time.

A painting of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc, who burnt himself to death on a Sai Gon street in 1963 to protest persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese regime, by Nguyen Gia Tri, a pioneer in the art of lacquer painting, is also among works on display.

The exhibition, organised by the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha in HCM City, will remain open until February 14 – the 15th day of the first lunar month.

The pagoda is situated at 64/2 Pho Quang Street, Tan Binh District.

Movie star brings smiles to kids

Movie and pop star Ngo Thanh Van and her staff visited the Hoan My Hospital to present gifts to children who suffer from heart diseases as part of the charity programme Vet Seo Cuoc Doi (Scar of Life).

The kids received candies, cakes and toys.

Scar of Life, which began in 2010, has helped 750 children to receive free heart surgery worth US$2,000 each.

Spring Festival attracts crowds

The two-week Spring Festival celebrating the Lunar New Year (Tet) currently held at the Youth Cultural House in HCM City has attracted thousands of visitors in just a few days.

The event, which began last Saturday, features shows performed by both veteran and amateur artists, including cai luong (reformed theatre) and tai tu (traditional southern tunes), as well as photography and traditional calligraphy.

The festival's themes highlight the development of HCM City and the Year of Horse.

It includes a fashion show featuring 40 amateur models and students from local colleges and universities who will perform in traditional ao dai created by young designers every night.

In addition to the shows, well-known handicraft villages and farms in rural districts and from neighbouring provinces are introducing their traditional products at the festival.

Dozens of indigenous flowers, bonsai plants and trees are on display. Designed to feel like a big outside garden, the festival has attracted many children and women.

Visitors are also encouraged to participate in a variety of street shows featuring folk art and games, which begin at 8pm every night.

Organisers said they received help and support from the city's People's Committee and other offices and organisations.

Capital city prepares to welcome Tet holiday

Hanoi comes alive as workers are busy adorning the city with colourful lights, flowers and trees to create a buzzing atmosphere for the Year of the Horse.

The last lights and flower pots are being installed on the path of Sword Lake in the heart of the city.

According to Vice General Director of the Hanoi Park and Tree Company Nguyen Hoa Hop, the company has prepared a huge number of flowers and ornamental trees along Hanoi’s streets and crossroads, which will be on display until February 9.

Broken light bulbs have been replaced, and new festooned lights have also been installed on main streets, public places as well as large buildings across the city.

The municipal people’s committee has directed related agencies to check sanitation, especially in central districts and public places.

Sanitation workers are on duty to collect a large amount of rubbish during the festive holiday, which is forecast to be half as much as on normal days.

As many as 47 Tet flower markets will open for citizens to enjoy the joyful moments and buy home flowers to decorate their houses for Tet.

The electricity sector was also asked to keep a stable power supply during the nine-day holiday.

Ethnology museum kicks off Tet festival

Setting up the New Year’s tree (cay neu ) is one of the activities drawing visitors’ special attention at a cultural festival opened at the Vietnam Mu seum of Ethnology, Hanoi , on January 23.

Traditionally, on the 23 rd day of the last lunar month, Vietnamese people usually hold a ceremony to set up a cay neu in front of their house. Cay neu, often made of bamboo with a ring and a red scroll on its top, is believed to help ward off devils during the longest and the most important annual festival in Vietnam . On the seventh day of Lunar New Year, the tree is taken down.

This custom, however, is hardly found in the country in these days.

This year, on the day, which falls on January 23, the museum invited people from Co Loa, Dong Anh district, Hanoi to erect a cay neu (New Year’s tree) in the ground of the museum, Museum Director Vo Quang Trong said.

Visitors to the festival also have a chance to take part in such activities as wrapping “chung” (square) cake, a typical cake for Tet, writing calligraphy and traditional games.-

Photo exhibition depicts Vietnam’s traditional festivals

An exhibition featuring photos on Vietnam’s traditional cultural festivals is being held in the northern city of Hai Phong from January 22 to February 6.

The event is one of activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2014 and the 84 th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Feb. 3).

130 photos on display provide a multi-dimensional and multi-colour reflection of the nature, land and people of Vietnam and the traditional cultural identities of the Vietnamese ethnic groups.

They help visitors better their understanding about the country's costumes, community-based cultural activities, religious rituals and beliefs, customs, folk games and festivals, traditional arts, and UNESCO-recognised tangible and intangible cultural heritages.

The exhibition also showcases images and documents on the ancient architecture of Hai Phong as well as the formation and development of the port city.

More cultural, art shows to come to remote areas

More cultural and arts shows will come to remote, border, island and ethnic regions under a 2014-2020 project recently approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The scheme is meant to narrow the gap in cultural and art products between underprivileged and urban areas. It will be done by promoting public arts activities, including both professional and amateur performances while calling for domestic and foreign investment along the way.

Traditional cultural values are also expected to be brought into full play, thereby improving economic, cultural and social lives.

To deliver on the mission, relevant agencies are responsible for reviewing the local enjoyment of culture and arts, via festivals, song-writing contests, film screenings and book exhibitions.

Simultaneously, officials from the grassroots and central levels must raise public awareness of the fact that culture is both a spiritual foundation of society and a driving force of socio-economic progress.

They are also tasked with personnel training and the better use of media like radio, television and internet for the cause.-

Decorative light performances for lunar New Year

Impressive decorative lighting performances are being held in Da Nang and Quang Nam provinces in the central region and Can Tho city in the Mekong delta between 20 January and 7 February on the occasion of the lunar New Year, local media reported.

Entitled “Spring Gathering Celebration”, the events offer local residents and visitors an opportunity to enjoy the delight of walking along the streets at night under the impressive and colourful lighting systems, said the Danang Today online.

From 29 January to 2 February (29th day of the 12th lunar month to 3rd day of the 1st lunar month), free photos will be taken for those who want to save their memorable moments on a number of streets.

In addition, visitors will have an opportunity to take part in a photograph contest entitled “My Beloved City” between 20 January and 20 February and to receive numerous valuable prizes.

They also have an opportunity to take photos of these colourful decorative streets and send their works to a contest held for this occasion.

Last year, the central city of Da Nang welcomed over 743,000 foreign tourists and more than 2.3 million domestic holidaymakers.

Ho Chi Minh City propaganda painting exhibition opens

A propaganda painting exhibition titled ‘Aspiration for Peace’ opened this morning at Ho Chi Minh City’s War Remnants Museum, as part of activities celebrating the 2014 Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival.

Forty-five propaganda paintings were selected for exhibit out of the 67 paintings sent in reply to the call for artwork under the ‘Aspiration for Peace’ campaign.

The works are said to reflect the desire for peace nationally and globally amongst the city’s young people.  

The exhibition runs until March 30 and is expected to attract a large number of domestic and international visitors.

Vietnam Buddhism Association hosts exhibition for cancer patients

A charity exhibition featuring a number of artworks by 22 artists in HCMC themed “Vietnam country and people with Buddhism” was held at HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities last weekend to celebrate 78 years (1938-2014) of the Vietnam Buddhism Association with proceeds going to cancer patients.

The association organized the event, which featured 48 paintings, with an aim to assert the contribution of the group to national development during a time of globalization.

“Proceeds from selling 48 paintings will be offered to the Buddhism Today Charity Fund (40%) and for assistance to cancer patients (60%),” said Dam Thuy, an artist who donated 20 paintings.

The exhibition was held at HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities in District 1 until Monday.

The exhibition finishes up at Pho Quang Pagoda in Tan Binh District today.

Nguyen Quoc Dan develops non-cubism with chalk

After some years building his own art style of ‘non-cubism’, attracting visitors with colorful chords weaved together, forming into structures which are able to create profound and lurid feelings, Nguyen Quoc Dan has returned with a new solo exhibition ‘Non-cubism – Chalk’.

He is displaying 10 artworks made in his ‘non-cubism’ style at an exhibition being held at 36 Dinh Bo Linh in Binh Thanh District.

However, this time, Dan does not use eye-catching oil lines. He uses chalk depicting endless color seamless cords as tangled reels which depict his self-portraits and many abstract images and structures which arouse visitors’ imagination due to their feelings and creativeness.

“Chalk is a simple, familiar and easily-found material. Moreover, I want to develop the style into graffiti arts for design and décor at architecture works and walls on the streets,” he added. He added that chalk can be easily erased so it will not result in dirty or damaged walls while it is also functioned as the perfect media to make artworks.

Dan also said the art of using chalk to make graffiti and decorations for restaurants, café or bars is a recent trend.

Moreover, this time, Dan chooses the internet to bring his artworks to visitors. “I want to take advantage of technology to promote my works at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cord-Team so that visitors can see them anywhere and anytime,” he said.

Visitors will sense ending color strings like endless emotion and inspiration of the artists, creating a strong visual effect for visitors.

Not only for the personal aesthetic attempt, multicolor non-cubism is also considered as research in delving into the analysis of all aspects of multi-emotional aesthetics and leading to the whole logic of art. “Non-cubism school has influenced significantly onto many fields of art such as architecture, sculptures, music, fashion and cuisine, so I expect further development in the future, and for now, I will pilot it firstly as graffiti in HCMC,” said Dan.

Via this exhibition with chalk, Dan wants to turn his art style into street graffiti art. Interlacing colorful chords such as people of different nationalities, skin colors, languages, social levels and careers united into one community. This is the logical thing between arts and real life, between concepts and reality.

Born in 1984 in Hoi An, Quang Nam province, Dan graduated from HCMC University of Fine Arts in 2009. After graduating, he started to research media, books and art exhibitions to find a new trend and style for himself. Finally, he found non-cubism as his own style with a first solo exhibition called ‘Non-Cubism’ in September 2011 and a second ‘Multicolor Non-Cubism 2012’.

The exhibition will run until Monday.

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