Photos recall events of 1945

A book of photographs has been published covering the major political events in Viet Nam around the time independence was declared in Ha Noi in 1945.

Attention!: President Ho Chi Minh (in white) visits the Tran Quoc Tuan military school in one of the images included in the new volume. – File Photo

Most photos were taken in the capital and northern provinces. The events were captured by photographers from the Ministry of Information of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (the former name of the current Socialist Republic of Viet Nam).

The photos are mostly from a photo album which was later given to French journalist and historian Phillippe Devillers.

Sixty years later, it was re-presented to Professor Phan Huy Le, President of the Viet Nam Association of History Science, during his working trip to France.

Another book on Viet Nam's leading patriot, titled Ho Chi Minh, Nguoi Mang Lai Anh Sang (Ho Chi Minh, Bringer of Light), has also been published.

Contained 61 articles by domestic and foreign writers, the book's name is the headline of an article for the AsianTime written by Stanley Karnow. It was published on April 14, 1998.

A Pulitzer Prize winner, Karnow is a specialist on Viet Nam.

Artist shows love for Mong people

Nguyen Quang Huy's exhibition Love opens today at the Art Viet Nam Gallery, Nguyen Khac Nhu Street, Ha Noi.

He showcases 25 portraits, landscapes, video and light sculptures of the Mong people in the mountainous province of Ha Giang, the result of his trips over the last 15 years.

"For me their life is with love, a special way of loving," Huy says. "The emotion is very direct, very unlike my ideas and what I know about love. Their love is more basic, natural, and difficult to quantify".

The exhibition will run until February 12.

Zing Music Awards honour pop singers

Singer Dam Vinh Hung bagged two major awards at the Zing Music Awards 2010 ceremony in HCM City on Wednesday, including nods for Impressive Performing Style and Artist of the Year. In addition, his songs Qua Con Me (After Dream) and Khoang Cach (Distance) were listed in the awards' Top 10. Singer and model Ho Ngoc Ha shared the Impressive Performing Style award with Hung.

The band V.Music received the award for Favourite Band, while the Most Promising Singer awards were given to Duong Trieu Vu and Vinh Thuyen Kim. Veterans Dan Truong and Thanh Thao were honoured as Favourite Male and Female Singer, respectively.

The awards were organised by the music-sharing website mp3.zing.vn.

Show pays tribute to late songstress

A concert of ca tru (ceremonial singing) to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of People's Artist Quach Thi Ho will be organised this Sunday at Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Ha Noi.

Artists from the UNESCO Ca Tru Centre will perform at the concert.

Ho (1913-2000) was one of the few Vietnamese traditional artists recognised internationally. In 1978, she was awarded an honourary diploma by UNESCO's International Music Council and the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies for her contribution in preserving "traditional music of great artistic and cultural value."

She was the first and only ca tru artist to have been granted the highest artistic title of People's Artist.

8th century coins discovered in Vinh Phuc

A local man recently found a pot containing 8kg of coins dating from the 8th to the 12th century while building a house in Van Hoi Commune in the northern province of Vinh Phuc's Tam Duong District, according to experts from the provincial museum asked to identify the discovery.

Each coin was 2.4cm in diameter, had a square central hole and Chinese characters on each side.

Museums eye preservation methods

A discussion on how to better preserve items on display in HCM City museums was co-hosted here on Wednesday by the City's departments of heritage and culture.

The discussion aimed at building budget estimates to improve humidity and dust control systems, storage, and the overall quality of the museums in the city.

Firefighter portrait wins national contest

The photo of a fire-fighter at work, Silence, taken by Diep Duc Minh won a gold medal at the national artistic photo contest.

Launched in September, the contest, Portraits of Today's Vietnamese People, received 4,112 photos from 767 professional and amateur photographers nationwide.

The organising board, the Viet Nam Photographic Artists' Association, selected the 119 best photos for an exhibition, of which, 12 have received awards.

The awards ceremony and opening of the exhibition will take place on January 24 at Gallery 45 on Trang Tien Street in Ha Noi.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News