VietNamNet Bridge – The Museum of Fine Arts is displaying art pieces made from everyday objects across the nation at an exhibition in Ha Noi.

Visitors contemplate an artwork displayed at the national applied arts exhibition, which showcases about 200 art pieces made from everyday objects by Vietnamese artists.

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism every five years, the show is in its third incarnation. It runs until December 3 at the museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc.

The 200 pieces, made by Vietnamese artists, include jars, vases, carpet, calendar, product packing materials and jewellery made from various materials – rattan-bamboo, lacquer, paper and silk, to name a few.

The organising committee awarded a set of ceramic fish lights crafted by Hanoian artist Hoang Van Anh first prize among the works submitted.

"The show aims to honour the talents of the artisans and artists working in the field of applied arts," said Vi Kien Thanh, deputy head of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association.

"We hope that the event creates favourable conditions to enterprises to have access to good products. We also expect the show to help improve the aesthetic quality of products that can be used in daily life."

For a very long time, applied art was considered less important than plastic fine arts in Viet Nam, according to Tran Khanh Chuong, chairman of Viet Nam Fine Arts Association.

But over the last 50 years, applied arts have played an increasingly important role.

There are 37 schools in Viet Nam teaching applied arts. Every year, about 3,000 students graduate in the field. The country is home to 3,000 craft villages.

However, the artists find it hard to earn a living, because their products face steep competition from abroad.

According to artist Ho Trong Minh, a teacher at the Fine Arts College, the models created by Vietnamese artists are unique.

"Vietnamese artists are good at graphic design, but in other fields of applied arts such as fashion design, interior design and industrial design, they need to make bigger efforts," he said.

Experts have said that patterns on handicrafts made in Viet Nam predominantly featured styles from Western countries, and China, South Korea and Japan.

According to them, educational efforts were needed to preserve the Vietnamese artistic identity, which was being lost.

Many said that imports contributed to the degeneration of Viet Nam's handicraft and applied art traditions.

"I understand that it's very difficult for the artists to create new designs," Thanh said.

"We hope the exhibition can help to connect artists and designers with production enterprises and consumers to help develop the applied arts in the country."

VNS/VNN