A selection of noteworthy artistic and cultural events that will take place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

HANOI

PERFORMANCE

Ionah Show

Star Galaxy

87 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh district

7:45 pm, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Come to the 75-minute Ionah Show to enjoy the perfect combination of circus, dance, music and theatrical arts, offering a new look into Vietnamese art and culture.

The name “Ionah” could sound like a foreign name from a distant land, but it is in fact truly familiar. “Ionah” is “Hanoi” written in reverse, a gift originated from a love for Hanoi.

Ticket prices: VND750,000 – VND 950,000

Art Program “Bamboo Talk”

7 pm, May 24 and 25

Phu Sa Lab

21/52 To Ngoc Van street, Quang An Ward, Tay Ho District

Come to enjoy a whole evening of creative performances accompanied by music played on instruments all made of BAMBOO – the inspiration for every high-end show in Vietnam.

Ticket: VND700,000 (dinner and 1 drink included)

‘Lang Toi’ (My Village) by Lune Production

6 pm, May 25 and 27

Vietnam Tuong Theatre

51A Duong Thanh Street, Hoan Kiem district

Lang Toi (My Village) is a delicate merge of tradition and innovation, where the poetic beauty of Northern Vietnam’s village life is presented through a new cirque approach.

Farming, the building activities, traditional games, and lifestyle of the Northern villagers are recreated by ancestral bamboo props, breath-taking cirque and acrobatics performances, and rhythmic dance, to distinct folk music from more than 20 musical instruments.

Ticket prices: VND 630,000- VND 1,050,000

EXHIBITION

Exhibition “freeze Vietnam’s here & now!”

Vietnam University of Fine Arts

42 Yet Kieu Street, Hoan Kiem district

You are invited to an exhibition by German artist Lara Jaecks. Works on display are presented in various topics: the daily working life at a small fishing village in central Vietnam; the diversity and contrast between Vietnamese cities and the countryside; the charm of old women, and the special relationship between nude Vietnamese models.

A larger part of the exhibits deal with the massive consumption of plastic bags in Hanoi.

Exhibition “Evolution: Torres Strait Masks”

Trong Dong Building, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Cau Giay district

Torres Strait is a network of islands located between Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. The people of this area maintain vibrant artistic, spiritual and cultural traditions.

The making and wearing of beautifully decorated masks is one of the region’s most distinctive traditions. While rooted in ancient protocols and spirituality, masks and mask making today are celebrated as expressions of an artistic and cultural revival.

Exhibition “The Northwest Land”

VICAS Art Studio

32 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi

You are invited to the exhibition THE NORTHWEST LAND by artists Le Kinh Tai, Nguyen Quang Vinh, Le Minh Duc, Chu Van, and Bui Van Tuat.

The exhibition displays 24 artworks on the nature and people of Northwest Vietnam, which were made during an art workshop organised and funded by the VICAS ART STUDIO in 2018.

Free entry

HO CHI MINH CITY

PERFORMANCE

Piano-Flute Duet Concert: French Impressionism

8 – 10 pm, May 24

IDECAF

31 Thai Van Lung Street, District 1

You are invited to a concert featuring talented pianist Hélène Jeanney and flutist Nicolas Duchamp.

Hélène Jeanney is a brilliant pianist with sublime performances and admirable talent. Nicolas Duchamp is considered as a first-class flutist in the Austrian classical music scene.

Tickets: VND300,000 – VND200,000

The Mist by Lune Production

6:00 pm, May 21, 22, 23 and 24

Ho Chi Minh City Opera House

7 Cong Truong Lam Son, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1

The Mist tells the story of Southern Vietnamese farming life, expressed through neo-classic and contemporary dance performed by skilled artists.

Using rice cultivation as a metaphor to appreciate the farmers’ dedication, from the misty dawn in the fields and the hardship and will power to rise up from the humble muddy soil and brace storms, until the moment they arrive joyously like shining pearls at harvest.

The Mist is an hour of emotions, with a myriad of ups and downs, painted by sensational live music, splendid visuals, and colorful lighting effects.

Ticket prices: VND630,000 – VND1,050,000- VND1,470,000

EXHIBITION

Exhibition “Between Fragmentation and Wholeness”

Galerie Quynh

118 Nguyen Van Thu Street, Dakao ward, District 1

You are invited to “Between Fragmentation and Wholeness” – an exhibition of new work by Truong Cong Tung. Curated by Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran, this is Truong’s first solo exhibition at the gallery and the first comprehensive show of his work in almost a decade.

The exhibition invites viewers to enter Truong Cong Tung’s multidimensional reality through three main axes in the gallery space: vertically – with the ruptures in urban planning and propagated doctrine; horizontally – with mystical human-altered landscapes in agrarian territories; and diagonally – with a mirage of blazing images extracted from the virtual domain.

Nhan Dan/Hanoigrapevines