‘Coming of Age’ realizes 5th anniversary of Craig Thomas Gallery

Craig Thomas Gallery will host group exhibition ‘Coming of Age’, an eclectic mix of painting, sculpture and installation works, on June 19 to celebrate its fifth anniversary.

The artists include those who have been with the gallery since the beginning such as Lieu Nguyen, Lim Khim Ka Ty, Tran Quoc Tuan, and Bui Tien Tuan; those who have joined later like Pham Huy Thong, Bui Thanh Tam, Nguyen The Hung, Ngo Van Sac and Tran Minh Tam; and those with whom the gallery will be working in the near future, such as established sculptor Bui Hai Son, expressionist painter Doan Hoang Lam and digital painter and illustrator Khoa Le.

The exhibition is like a fabulous art party highlighted by the contemporary works by the well-known faces in the local art scene. It will give visitors an opportunity to look into Vietnamese contemporary art via different materials and styles that may realize the development of local art and the creativeness of local talents.

The gallery has been dedicated to nurturing young talented Vietnamese artists and giving them the opportunity to develop skills, with solo and group exhibitions curated by the gallery and accompanying publications. The gallery has also participated in the on-going development of the local art scene and has helped both international and local collectors become better acquainted with Vietnamese contemporary art.

This year also marks the first time the gallery has joined an international Affordable Art Fair (AAF) in Hong Kong. The event, which took place in March, gave the gallery a chance to meet a new network of collectors and galleries, and introduce artists who have never before been seen outside Vietnam.

Established in 2009, Craig Thomas is the natural evolution of its founder’s decade-long involvement in the Vietnamese art scene and the relationships developed with artists, curators and collectors during that time. The gallery is focused on supporting the development of young, emerging to mid-career Vietnamese artists and providing them with a platform to present their works to a wider audience.

The works are on show until July 18 at the gallery, 27i Tran Nhat Duat Street in HCMC’s District 1.

HCM City hosts 5th Windsor Wedding Fair

Twenty-five popular wedding fashion and bridal services brands showcased their products last weekend in an annual event at the Windsor Plaza Hotel in HCM City.

The two-day fifth Windsor Wedding Fair saw a fashion show featuring the latest bridal gown collections from famous brands like Milan, Truong Thanh Hai, Le Huy, Viet Dang, and others.

They also offered consultancy to couples preparing to get married about the various services available.

There were three popular wedding themes — traditional, classic, and contemporary – that perfectly blended designs, colours, styles, and menus.

Other brands present at the event included Serenade, BD Florist, G-Brown, Studio, Chocolate Graphics, SJC, ABC bakery, HSBC, ADSA wedding, DL Duy Studio, and Rafik Duy Studio.

The movie ‘Chang trai nam ay’ – which is a story about the late V-pop singer Wanbi Tuan Anh, who passed away last year after a long period of suffering brain tumor – started shooting on June 15. The film is directed by Nguyen Quang Huy, who won six prizes in the Golden Kite Awards 2013.

The movie is inspired by the true story of the ill-fated singer Wanbi Tuan Anh and his friendship with others. Based on the biography ‘Bat dau tu mot ket thuc’ (Starting from an end), the film features the battle against brain tumor by singer Dinh Phong (Son Tung) and his companionship with actor Ngo Kien Ha (Ngo Kien Huy), MC Pham Quynh Bang (Pham Quynh Anh), Sky (Hari Won) and manager Ly Lam (Hua Vi Van).

The film praises friendship, love and optimism that can still be found even though life is hard.

“I am very moved by the destiny of Wanbi Tuan Anh, especially his strong spirit of facing the fatal disease. Through the film, we want that spirit to spread. It would be a little bit different from reality but we respect every single event in Wanbi’s life,” said director Huy.

The film is expected to screen in November with English subtitles. It is produced by WePro Company and released by Galaxy Cinema.

Veteran literary critic Pham Xuan Nguyen has called for more recognition from culture authorities and writers for online writing, which is attracting a fresh wave of young followers.

Online writing can co-exist in harmony with printed literature, he said at the workshop on online literature held on Saturday at the East West Culture and Language Centre, Ha Noi.

The workshop drew the participation online writers and poet, and drew attention from many readers and writers of printed literature.

Online literature appeared around 10 years ago in Viet Nam, but it didn't have a firm foothold in the orthodox literary field, but often gained critical acclaim, said Nguyen.

"My foreign writer friends call online literature self-published literature, where writers can publish their work easily on social networks," he said.

"These stories are spread far and wide without editing."

"Some pieces contain inappropriate content that may have a bad influence on readers, especially young people," he said.

A number of online books written by both professional and amateur writers have topped local best-seller lists.

Nguyen said the success of online writers and stories was undeniable and it would become an integral part of Vietnamese literature, but writers needed be more professional and responsible for their work.

"Most online writers write as a hobby because they love writing," he said.

"Even successful online writers like Phong Viet, who has won thousands of hearts for his poems, have confessed they are only amateurs."

25-year-old writer Han Nhu, who is known widely on the internet for her love stories, agreed with Nguyen. She said all serious online writers dreamed that one day, their works would be published.

Nhu started writing while she was studying at university. She has released several novels online and one of them, Chi Co The La Yeu (It Must Be Love), was adapted into a TV series.

"Most online writers claim that one of the benefits of releasing their works on the internet is they are easily accessible to readers," she said.

"Writers can also gain recognition and become famous more easily. In addition, online writing can also allow authors to interact fully with their readers. That's the advantage of writing online like us," she said.

Online literature forums were a promising destination for young writers, but Nhu insisted that these writers, mostly young people, should enrich their work with real-life experiences and improve the quality of their writing.

Readers were strict and intelligent enough to filter out serious writers from cheap trash, she concluded.

Class to preserve Khmer musical instrument opened

Veteran Khmer musicians are teaching young people how to play the cha pay (zither) in an effort to preserve the group's cultural heritage.

A cha pay class opened last Thursday in the southern province of An Giang with the support of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Over the next two months, the students will attend the class five days a week to learn about the history and structure of the instrument, the musical notes and how to use the instrument to perform Khmer folk songs.

After the class has finished, the students will in turn teach others how to play the cha pay so it can spread across the province and be performed at community activities and festivals.

Local authorities and cultural experts as well as old veteran artists hope the classes will help to find the next generation of musicians.

Traditional musical instrument festival draws to close

The six-day festival of traditional musical instrument solos and ensembles saw its official conclusion on June 15 in Da Lat city, Lam Dong province.

Twenty-three gold prizes and 16 certificates of merit were presented for passionate performances with high levels of technique and accuracy, and those that achieved a harmonious timbre while embracing the typical features of the music.

The weeklong event drew the participation of 500 artists from 25 art troupes from across the country which specialise in traditional musical instruments.

The artists brought to the stage ancient pieces of music and newly released works that were inspired by traditional tunes.

The festival was intended to provide the artists with an opportunity to showcase their talent and exchange experience in preserving and promoting the essence of Vietnamese traditional music.

The festival was organised jointly by the Department of Performing Arts under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; the Vietnam Musicians’ Association; and the Vietnam Association of Stage Artists to celebrate the 2014 National Tourism Year.