Art as Research: Microhistory as Method

Thurs 20 Oct 2022, 06 pm
Online via the Event page

Called the ‘science of real life’ by historians Carlo Ginzburg and Carlo Poni, microhistory describes an approach to studying history that employs what we could think of as a microscopic lens, focusing on seemingly irrelevant details, habits and routines, and underlying mentalities. Such studies can serve as ‘histories from below’, giving voice and representation to subjects made silent or abstract in prevailing master narratives.

In this webinar, historian Mark E. Frank and artist Magnus Bärtås will discuss how the concept of microhistory has developed as a research method within their respective fields of study. Mark E. Frank will elaborate on the origins of microhistory in the discipline of history, and will share how artistic visualization has supported his own research in Sino-Tibetan history. Magnus Bärtås will discuss how a mutual exchange can come about between the historical perspective/approach used in microhistory, and visual art, especially the video essay genre, with examples from his own moving image practice.

This program is part of an inter-institutional research exchange between Fulbright University Vietnam and Konstfack – University of Arts, Crafts and Design, funded by a Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) Mobility Grant for Internationalization. It also joins the educational programming for ‘Illuminated Curiosities’, an exhibition presented by Nguyen Art Foundation.

* Language: English only (video documentation of the event will be subtitled in Vietnamese and published online at a later date)

* Guest speakers: Mark E. Frank & Magnus Bärtås; Respondent: Nora Taylor; Moderator: Pamela Corey & Bill Nguyen

Mark E. Frank is an Assistant Professor of History and Coordinator of the History major at Fulbright University Vietnam. He has published several articles about the Sino–Tibetan borderlands, including the microhistories of Chinese weather stations and experimental farms on the Tibetan plateau in the early 20th century. His book in progress, The Rooted State: Plants and Power on the Chinese Frontier, shows how ideas about agrarian colonization traveled between different settings on the Chinese frontier during the Republican era, when the state itself was deeply fractious. It combines micro- and macro-perspectives to illustrate that the experiences of individuals and communities often reverberate with those of distant strangers in surprising ways.

Magnus Bärtås is a Professor of Fine Arts, and Head of Research at Konstfack – University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, Sweden. He works foremost with text; in film, essay and assemblage/installation. His works have been exhibited at Moderna Museet, Stockholm, in 1990, 2006 and 2010, and he is the winner of the Grand Prize at Oberhausen International Film Festival in 2010. Bärtås participated in Platform, Seoul, South Korea, 2009; the 9th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea, 2012; and the Real DMZ Project, Art Sonje, Seoul, South Korea, 2013 and 2015. Gothenburg Konsthall presented a larger retrospective exhibition of his work in 2016. In 2011, his book All Monsters Must Die (together with Fredrik Ekman) was shortlisted for The August Prize – an annual Swedish literary prize awarded to the best Swedish book of the year.

Dr. Nora Annesley Taylor is the Alsdorf Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Interim Provost at Fulbright University Vietnam. She received her PhD from Cornell University. She is the author of Painters in Hanoi: An Ethnography of Vietnamese Art, published by Hawaii Press in 2004 and reprinted by NUS press in 2009; co-editor of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, An Anthology, Cornell SEAP Press, 2012; as well as numerous articles on Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian and Vietnamese art. In 2014, she was the recipient of a John Solomon Guggenheim Fellowship for a study on the politics of performance art in Southeast Asia.

Ballet Giselle

Oct 21 & 22, 08:00 pm
Saigon Opera House, 7 Cong Truong Lam Son, D1, HCMC

Music: ADOLPHE ADAM
Staging: CHLOÉ GLEMOT, YUKI HIROSHIGE
Assistant staging: NSƯT | Mer. A. TRẦN HOÀNG YẾN

Giselle: Đỗ Hoàng Khang Ninh
Albert: Mer. A. Hồ Phi Điệp
Myrtha: Mer. A. Trần Hoàng Yến
Hilarion: Mer. A. Đàm Đức Nhuận
Giselle’s mother: Đỗ Thị Anh Nguyên

Giselle is one of the most extraordinary ballets ever written. It will be revived by HBSO for two performances on Friday October 21 and Saturday October 22 in the HCMC Opera House.

The first reason Giselle is extraordinary is that it is in two strongly contrasting acts. The first is a village in southern Germany in the Middle Ages, at harvest time. Giselle is a shy, innocent girl who is likely to be chosen as Harvest Queen. The second act, however, in set in an afterlife. following Giselle’s death. Almost devoid of scenery, it is instead a visual world of drifting mists and menacing ghosts anxious to recruit Giselle into their company.

A second reason why Giselle is extraordinary is that it is the only piece of music still remembered by its composer, Adolphe Adam. It dates from 1841.

Giselle will be danced by Do Hoang Khang Ninh, and Albert by Meritorious Artist Ho Phi Diep. Myrtha will be Meritorious Artist Tran Hoang Yen, and Hilarion by Meritorious Artist Dam Duc Nhuan.

The entire production has been overseen and re-staged by Japanese artist Yuki Ohmori and French artist Chloe Glemot. Glemot has worked with dance companies in Paris, New York, Montreal and London. She moved to Vietnam in September 2013.

In 1993 Yuki Ohmori, meanwhile, won 1st Prize in the Pas de Deux Category-1 in the All Japan Dance Competition, and the same year won a scholarship to the Australian Ballet School. In 1996 she joined the New National Theatre Ballet in Tokyo, staying for ten years.

This, then, will be a star-studded revival.

Tickets are priced from 400,000 VND to 750,000 VND, with a special concession of 80,000 VND for students. The show begins at 8pm.

Exhibition ‘Notes on Paper'

Until Oct 27, 10 am – 07 pm (last entry is at 06:30pm), Tues – Sat,
Galerie Quỳnh, 118 Nguyen Van Thu, D1, HCM City

A vernacular material both in everyday life and art, paper has never ceased to inspire artists for its ubiquity, versatility, and incredible socio-historical weight – paper is synonymous with knowledge transmission and archiving. From a site where ideas could delve, paper is also a medium that evolves together with ideas as its varying sizes, textures, and thickness allow for surface and structural manipulation. Bringing together works by François Andes, Ha Manh Thang, Nguyen Huy An, Trong Gia Nguyen, Nguyen Manh Hung and Nguyen Tran Nam, ‘Notes on Paper’ highlights the kaleidoscopic nature of this unassuming material, at the same surveying the gestures that come along with it such as mark-making, painting, writing, and erasing.

Conjuring up the receding landscape of the Northern Vietnam countryside Ha Manh Thang’s series ‘Far in the North’ (2013 – ongoing) is both an archiving attempt and a philosophical reflection on the finitude of life. The paper, with its flair for resistance, now bears the significance of the identities of now-defunct temples and pagodas as Thang layers his memory of them and their original blueprints found by pure chance. Echoing the rather similar state of nostalgia, Nguyen Huy An manages to capture the essence of the Northern Vietnamese countryside through the image of the pond and water temples – where most of the village activities take place. What at first looks like a static, non-directional round mass as the ink seeps into each and every pulp of the Dó paper, reveals to be a symbol laden with stories: the legacy and heritage of communal lifestyle, and the artist’s personal rumination on being.

Nguyen Tran Nam’s stop-motion video ‘Through the looking glass’ (2022) guides us through an imaginary underground maze of thirteen tunnels. Instead of a lush magical world like in Alice in Wonderland, or gruesome hell in Dante’s Inferno, life in each tunnel is not that much different from our current reality. Featuring ten latest titles from his ‘Library (Anthology for Beginners)’ (2007 – ongoing), Trong Gia Nguyen reframes the notion of the library as a repository of knowledge, in particular how books accumulate and disseminate information and ideas. Fashioned as library cards, the rice ‘books’ disregard all hierarchy in the collected words – articles like ‘the’ and ‘a’ and prepositions such as ‘on’ and ‘with’ carry equal weight as more charged, descriptive words subverting the writers’ prose.

LIVESPACE MINI FEST

Fri 21 Oct2022, 07:30 pm
Abyxx, Bột Màu Khoai Tây Cà Rốt, Đá Số Tới, Xanh 8+1, Mạc & the Odd Stones, Mèow Lạc.
Sat 22 Oct 2022, 07:30 pm
Chú Cá Lơ, Limebócx, Phách ca, Lope Dope, 2!MUCH (Những Gã Mộng Mơ), Những Đứa Trẻ.
Hanoi Rock City
27/52 Đường Tô Ngọc Vân, Hà Nội
Ticketbox

After four concerts with lively performances from 12 young Vietnamese bands, the LiveSpace music project is coming to an end with events not to be missed: LiveSpace Mini Fest 2022 and a round of audience voting to find the winning band.

Voting round: Choosing one’s favourite band

The voting round is expected to last from October 7, 2022 to October 14, 2022. Exclusive compositions that 12 bands have recorded with the support of LiveSpace Vietnam will be voted on by the public through video lyrics posted on LiveSpace Vietnam’s official Facebook page. Voting results on the LiveSpace Vietnam Facebook page will be one of the important criteria to decide the winning band. At the same time, the jury consisting of representatives from the main partners of the program (Monsoon Music Festival, Believe, Sports and Culture newspaper, HRC…) and representatives of the French Institute in Hanoi will conduct the evaluation based on performances by artists at the past 4 concerts and at the upcoming LiveSpace Mini Fest 2022.

The works will be evaluated and scored through specific evaluation criteria. Thereby, the winning band will receive support from LiveSpace Vietnam and partners to continue to develop their career and contribute to the development of the Vietnamese music industry.

LiveSpace Mini Fest 2022 is an opportunity for music lovers to meet 12 young bands that have performed at 4 concerts within the framework of LiveSpace Vietnam. This is also the stage for gathering talented young faces of Vietnamese music, especially in the indie genre. Unlike the previous 4 concerts, LiveSpace Mini Fest 2022 will be held at Hanoi Rock City – a familiar place for audiences who are passionate about enjoying “live music” in the capital. Familiar names include 2!Much (Những Gã Mộng Mơ), Abyxx, Bột Màu Khoai Tây Cà Rốt, Chú Cá Lơ, Đá Số Tới, Limebócx, Lope Dope, Mạc and The Odd Stones, Mèow Lạc, Những Đứa Trẻ, Phách Ca and Xanh 8+1 will appear at two shows on October 21 and October 22, respectively. This will also be the last chance for the artists to showcase their performance skills and unique musical styles to convince the jury before the results are announced on October 24.

A round table dedicated to the LiveSpace program will be organized at the opening of the LiveSpace PRO sessions (music industry meetings – October 24 to 26, 2022 at Complex 01). On this occasion, the name of the 2022 LiveSpace Winner will be announced!

Ticket price:
– 250.000 (Buy 1 ticket, get 1 free soft drink)
– 400.000 (Combo for 2 concerts 21.10 & 22.10, ticket price includes 1 drink per night)
** Combo tickets are only open for sale online until 4pm on October 21. From 18:00 on October 21, please buy combo tickets at the door.

"Nếp xưa” exhibition

From 06 Oct 2022
Hanoi Museum, Pham Hung Street, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi

In the first half of the 20th century, the French built administrative buildings following French architecture, planned new streets and expanded Hanoi. Western concepts and lifestyles were introduced to Hanoi, causing many changes. In Hanoi, there are traditional concepts, lifestyles and ways of thinking along side of Western lifestyles and concepts. The exhibition recalls the lives of urban affluent families with a variety of artifacts and documents collected at home and abroad for the public to understand the life of this period. At the same time to convey good traditional cultural values to the next generation, creating a connection between traditional culture and current culture. The exhibition introduces nearly 200 documents and artifacts with four main contents:
– Living room
– Ancestral altar
– Villa
– Traditional five-flap long dress

Hanoi today is very different from the Hanoi of the past; from its architecture, the streets and it moves on due to the law of life. To nurture love with Hanoi it is necessary to have a good memory and an understanding of traditional culture. Joining hands to preserve and follow suit will form new dynamic and cultural classes of Hanoians, contributing to building a more and more solidly developed capital.

Art photos featuring contemporary life

Nov 4-13, HCM City Fine Arts Museum,HCM City

Titled 'Vietnam Art Photo Exhibition', the exhibition features 250 works by 187 photographers.

Introducing Vietnamese people, culture, and landscapes, and thinking of artists on issues of contemporary life.

’The Four Subjects'

Until Nov 5, Tues – Sun, 11 am – 07 pm

Manzi Exhibition Space, 2 Ngo Hang Bun, Hanoi

Manzi is proud to present ‘The Four Subjects’ – a new series of installations by visual artist Nguyễn Huy An, one of the most important figures of Vietnamese contemporary art.

For this comeback after three years (since his third solo show in Saigon), Huy An assembles an exclusive space for singular objects/relationships which would provoke an odd encounter of disparate subjects (they are essentially alien to each other and, at first sight, seemingly unfamiliar to the keen followers of Huy An’s art practices as well).

The new series of installation artworks features neither a reiteration of Huy An’s recurring motifs centered around his personal memories and the rural Northern Vietnam nor a replay of predominant themes such as local religious & spiritual dimensions and the divine & the profane which had often haunted Huy An’s practices with subtle shading of nostalgia for the past years. ‘The Four subjects’, nevertheless, is a display of his new and ongoing meditations on the potential possibilities of the visible / the action of seeing:
– A study of a very narrow blind area in the horse’s vision
– A reproduction of the comprehensive illustrated encyclopedia of Vietnamese Geography in the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng
– A co-presence of a lasting powerful light source and an ephemeral standard light with the minimum luminous intensity/ traces of its absence
– An extended thread of blanked-out images rhythmically punctuated with 51 bright colorful trails – effects of light leak in the first frames at the beginning of a film roll

A nuanced diagram of various scenarios, a bulleted list of prospects, with conciseness, clarity yet ambiguity, on the basis of diverse references. ‘Four Subjects’, therefore, resists the tendency to be interpreted as a coherent narrative that compels clear-cut messages or epic conclusions, but rather, provides clues of a puzzle lock. Scattered in a clear irreducible space, four sets of installations formulate somewhat of a tricky multi-point latching system; once this mechanism is unlocked with the right key, all pieces eventually fall into place. However, before the time comes, this arrangement, in the form of fragmented archives, is a dissonant structure. Apart from sharing some common characteristics in the artist’s reticence and restraint, along with the faint imprints of his personal codes (the light and shadow, the anonymous emptiness/ darkness and the futile attempt to preserve the remnants of vanishing cultures or to record the faded shades of the past), four installations of ‘The Four Subjects’, albeit connected in one theme called ‘seeing’, manifest themselves in a visual disharmony. This discordant presence sets off a tension of the haphazard and the random, of the absurdity and the evanescence, of the definitive and the infinite.

In that way, entailed in Four Subjects the implication of ‘Seeing or Not Seeing’/‘In sight or Out of sight’ is not a mutually exclusive claim or a two-choice question. Instead, a ‘No’ can be a ‘Yes’ and vice versa, everything is a metaphor. By confronting us with confounding variables in his experiment, Huy An opens up a free space that enables us to go beyond our limited perception which has always been dominated by our sense of sight and visual information

”Agnes’s New Planets”

27 Sep – 30 Oct
Mơ Art Space, B3 Floor, Apricot Hotel, 136 Hang Trong street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi

Mo Art Space cordially invites art lovers to ‘Agnes’s New Planets’ – a solo showcase by artist Duong Thuy Duong. Where do we come from? How do we define ourselves? Are we the product that we created? These are the questions which Duong Thuy Duong wants, together with the viewers,to try to reflect in this exhibition.

Taking the novel “Immortality” by author Milan Kundera as the point of departure – a story about love, the creator and the world, Duong Thuy Duong began her journey by creating dream images that captivated her soul. From luminous, fluorescent landscapes, disobeying the physical and chemical rules to the constantly changing, redefining of human corporalities and identities, Duong Thuy Duong opens dialogues and expresses her point of view about the paradox of our evolution intertwining with the development of technologies.

There’s something about Duong Thuy Duong paintings that exudes a sense of humor, satire, and a reflection of the disparities in our society. Instead of using graphic software or modern techniques like other contemporary artists, Thuy Duong chose to go back to the basic tool of painting, which is colors and brushes. The paradox between the fictional theme and her classical artistic practice give impulse to contemplate more about contemporary society and art. Moreover, despite consequently following one subject, her paintings do not create a sense of restraint. The diversity in drawing techniques, has opened up more depth and complexity in the paintings.Thuy Duong wittily and ironically reflects today’s art’s dependence on technology unconsciously and also creates a surprise through her artistic choices.

Duong Thuy Duong (b. 1989) currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Inspired by surrealism and abstraction, Duong Thuy Duong’s paintings refer to the artist’s view of her identity, cultural transfer as well as daily life between two different worlds. Her solo exhibitions include “Nothing is like us” (2022) and “Where is Lucy” (2019) in Berlin, Germany, “My Agnes” at Eight Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2016), “Seeing through the window” at Institut Francais, Hanoi, Vietnam (2015), “Seen by others” (2009) and “Coming then leaving” (2006) at Goethe Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Duong Thuy Duong also participated in various group shows such as “Migration and Identity” at Goethe Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam (2016), “5 Female Asian artists” at Gallery Thavibu, Bangkok, Thailand (2012), “Fine Arts of Duong Thuy Duong & Michael Wernitz” at Opera House, Halle/Saale (2009), “10 Years” at the Cultural Center of Beyer, Leverkusen, Germany (2009), “Vietnam’s emerging generation” at Gallery Maya, London, United Kingdom (2009), “Village, City and Dreams” at Viet Art Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam (2006) and “Harvest” at Exhibition House of Halle/Saale, Germany (2006).

The Collection: Trần Việt Phú
 

25 Sep – 25 Oct 2022, 10 am – 07 pm
Hanoi Studio Gallery
23-25 Mạc Đĩnh Chi, Ba Đình, Hà Nội

For the past 25 years, Hanoi Studio Gallery has had the opportunity to collaborate with and introduce generations of talented artists, as well as earned the support of many collectors and lovers of Vietnamese art. Those bonds, which have been lasting over two decades, are the foundation of what we are today.

As a way to honor and keep nourishing those priceless relationships, Hanoi Studio Gallery would like to introduce The Collection, a series of events of collected pieces as well as new pieces by renowned Vietnamese artists.

In order to launch The Collection exhibition series, Hanoi Studio Gallery would like to present “The Collection: Tran Viet Phu” with works that represent Phu, over the last two decades.

Poetry, the Poetic Current – Open Practice in Contemporary Culture
 

01 Oct – 26 Nov 2022
Montauk by LP Club
174 Kim Mã, Hà Nội

The spectrum of arts – photography, painting, music, theater, film…? How are the modes of thinking, creating art across disciplines, through a variety of media, rooted and realised?

In Hanoi, the series of events “Poetry, the Poetic Current – Open Practice in Contemporary Culture” will take place from October 1 to November 26, 2022 at Montauk by LP Club, bringing a new excitement and variety to poetry, expressed not just through the beauty of words, rhymes, rhythm and sounds, but also through visuals, music and theater. This program is also a co-presentation/co-creation of intellectual voices and creative faces in literary theory, culture and contemporary art practice.

The program will include a talk, roundtable, music poetry night, photo poetry book launch and devised theater performance. The aim is to share and connect the cultural and multimedia art practices that are linked by poetry. The program is initiated by MYAN Poetry & Art, with the support of XplusX Studio, Montauk by LP Club, the Center for Movie Talents Development – TPD, Hanoi Grapevine, Tung Tang Studio and Noirfoto Darkroom-Studio-Gallery.

Events in the program include:

(1) Talk “Literary as Allusion Processing” with scholar Ngô Tự Lập
Time: Sat 01 Oct 2022, 03 pm – 05 pm
Moderator: Hương Mi Lê

(2) (2)Music-poetry free-form jam
Time: Thurs 20 Oct 2022. 08 pm – 10 pm
Performing poets & musician : MYAN, mi-mimi, Mạc Mai Sương, Thế Lãng, Lưu Thanh Duy

(3) (3)Roundtable: Poetry, the Poetic Current in Contemporary Culture
Time: Sat 12 Oct 2022, 09:30 am – 11:30 am
Speaker: poet, visual mi-mimi; poet, mixed media MYAN; artist, photographer Phạm Tuấn Ngọc; Literature Doctor Đinh Minh Hằng
Host: Poet, film critic Nguyễn Vũ Hiệp

(4) Photo Poetry Book Launch “6s.10M.in.MOveMENT”
Time: Sun 13 Nov 2022, 09:30 am – 11:30 am
Authur: MYAN

(5) Devised Theater “Leaving Love”
Time: Fri & Sat 25 & 26 Nov 2022, 08 pm – 10 pm
Concept: MYAN
Director & Scenographer: Hà Nguyên Long

Exhibition: Illuminated Curiosities

Until Dec 2022
EMASI Nam Long
147 Street No.8, Nam Long Residential area, District 7,
EMASI Van Phuc
2 Street No.5, Van Phuc Residential City, Thu Duc District, HCM City

Nguyen Art Foundation (NAF) proudly invites you to the opening of ‘Illuminated Curiosities’, a group exhibition with 26 artists featuring 46 artworks from within and outside NAF’s Collection. Curated by art researcher Ace Le, with the curatorial assistance from Duong Manh Hung and Tam Nguyen, the exhibition will take place simultaneously across the campuses of EMASI Nam Long and EMASI Van Phuc, over the course of six months from May to December of 2022. ‘Illuminated Curiosities’ is a collaborative effort between NAF and Lan Tinh Foundation.

An Giang Province-Exhibition featuring Óc Eo culture

Until Oct 27,
Óc Eo - Ba Thê archaeological site

An exhibition featuring more than 200 photos and documents, offering an overview of history and development of Óc Eo culture as well as the preservation work of the Óc Eo - Ba Thê archaeological site.

The event features results from national and international research on the Óc Eo culture, and international cooperation on restoration with experts from South Korea, France and India.

It also honours the people’s contribution to the preservation and development of Óc Eo culture in the province by gifting ancient Óc Eo artefacts to local authorities.

International science film festival

Oct 8 - Dec 31
Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City

The 12th international science film festival featuring a range of scientific topics which are both accessible and entertaining to a broad audience and demonstrates that science can be fun and educational.

Some 16 science films across different categories will be screened during the festival.

Le Ha (Hanoigrapevines)