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

HANOI

PERFORMANCE

Art Performing Event: Shadow Dance – “The story of Shadows”

Heritage Space

7.30 – 10 pm, December 27

1st Floor, Dolphin Plaza

6 Nguyen Hoang street (for car) | 28 Tran Binh street (for bike), Nam Tu Liem district

The event will feature three performances by 30 disabled participants telling their own stories with the guidance and coaching from Mat Tran Ensemble.

Each performance is a real life story, surrounding our 30 characters. All the struggling thoughts, the misery, the dream and hope will be revealed for the first time to the audience.

Free entry

JF Garage Concert 18 with The Flying Clef Quintet

8 – 9 pm, December 28

Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam

27 Quang Trung street, Hoan Kiem district

The Flying Clef Quintet was established in 2018 by violinist Nguyen Thien Minh, consists of young musicians who have just come back to Vietnam after years of studying and working abroad.

Programme

1. The Falcon Song - solo violin by Dam Linh

2. Wind plays the flute - solo violin by Miyamoto Emiri

3. Piano quintet No.2 in A major Op. 81 by Antonio Dvorak

Free ticket distribution [2 tickets maximum per person] from 12:00, December 21 at The Japan Foundation. Opening hours: 09:00 – 18:00 (Sundays closed)

EXHIBITION

Group Photography Exhibition “Second Opinion”

Manzi Art Space

14 Phan Huy Ich street, Ba Dinh district

You are invited to a group photography exhibition featuring works by Nguyen Thi Hue, Ha Dao, Hanh Tran, Viet Vu, Le Xuan Tien, Nguyen Duc Huy, and Mai Pham.

The several different series of photographs presented in this exhibition were developed out of a long-term workshop experience at Hanoi DocLab and produced in 2017.

Exhibitions: “Bicycles” by Thu Van Tran and “Ellipses” by Ha Manh Thang

Vincom Centre for Contemporary Art (VCCA)

B1 – R3, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City

72A Nguyen Trai street, Thanh Xuan District

“Bicycles” is Thu Van Tran’s first solo installation exhibition in Vietnam, marking a milestone for the artist’s participation and involvement in the art scene in her home country. The exhibition was inspired by a memorable song from the artist’s childhood, with symbolic local media (rubber bands, sails, ceramics).

“Ellipses” is a solo exhibition presenting new works of Ha Manh Thang, one of the most prominent faces of the Vietnamese art scene, of abstract expressionist art language and installation art. Thang’s works have the sophistication of Western modern art, yet still hold in them an Asian spirit, reminding us of the past and the regret for what is lost.

HO CHI MINH CITY

PERFORMANCE

A O Show by Lune Production

6:00 pm, December 24, 25, 26, 27 and 30

Ho Chi Minh City Opera House

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

The A O Show features optical illusions and impressive acrobatics, paired with traditional music performances by a troupe of talented local artists.

Known as the Cirque du Soleil of Vietnam (minus the flashy outfits), this live show depicts the transition of rural Vietnam into today’s modern landscape, using props such as giant woven baskets, scaffolding, bamboo canes, and ropes.

Price range: VND630,000 - VND1,470,000

EXHIBITION

Exhibition “Instability” by Truong The Linh

Craig Thomas Gallery

27i Tran Nhat Duat Street, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1

You are invited to the exhibition “Instability”, a solo exhibition of paintings by Hue-based artist Truong The Linh.

Linh’s paintings arguably focus just as much on the medium of paint, and how it reacts on the surface of his canvases, as they do on the subjects of the paintings. In his new collection of works, the artist continues to explore the sensuous realm of paint, skin and figuration seen in his earlier paintings.

Exhibition “an everyday day” by Nguyen Quang Huy

Galerie Quynh

118 Nguyen Van Thu, Dakao, District 1

You are invited to “an everyday day” – a solo exhibition of new work by Hanoi-based artist Nguyen Quang Huy. Considered one of Vietnam’s pioneering artists following the Doi Moi reforms initiated in 1986 (a period of economic liberalisation marked by increased artistic experimentation), Quang Huy will be showing a suite of oil paintings depicting Hmong women and misty mountain scenes created with hazy brushworks in his distinctive muted palette of blue-grey grisaille.

Nhan Dan/Hanoigrapevines