Art on sea life and East Sea disputes on display in HCMC  

More than 88 art posters on sea and border sovereignty by 61 painters from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Soc Trang Province are on exhibit from now until September 10.

The exhibition, held at Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association, features the latest works of both artists from the North and South regions of Vietnam.

Some of the paintings aim to confirm Vietnam’s sovereignty on Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands through art and historical documentation.

After the exhibition at HCMC Fine Arts Association (218A Pasteur, District 3), the Association will organize many roving displays in the city’s cultural houses and some Southern provinces.
 
Vietnam joined cultural festival in Switzerland

Vietnam together with other 19 nations worldwide on Sept. 3 participated in a cultural festival in Biel city, Switzerland , which was designed to enhance friendship among the nations.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Representative Delegation to the United Nations, World Trade Organisation and other international organisations and a large number of overseas Vietnamese in Switzerland took part in the event.

With traditional dishes and handicrafts such as conical hats, bamboo flutes, silk flowers and lacquer paintings, especially “Ao dai” (traditional long dress) performance, the Vietnamese booth drew much attention from visitors.

Biel ’s Mayor Erich Fehr stressed that the Switzerland and Vietnam have enjoyed a time-hounoured relationship, which, he said, should be preserved and further developed.

Meanwhile, President of the Switzerland-Vietnam Association Anjuska Well also expressed her hope that bilateral ties would further flourish in the future.

Website on world wonders debuts Vietnamese version

The website www.new7wonders.com launched by Switzerland – based NewOpenWorld Corporation to vote for 7 new world’s nature wonders has just released a Vietnamese edition to make it easy for Vietnamese to vote for their nominees.

Vietnamese is the 12th language to be used on the website.

Nominated sites from Vietnam include Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh and Nha Trang Bay in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

NewOpenWorld is managed by Swiss billionaire Bernard Weber. Based on the viewpoint that six of the seven wonders of the ancient world don’t exist anymore, Mr Weber established NewOpenWorld to conduct campaigns to re-select the world wonders.

The winners are scheduled to be announced in November.

Another ancient tomb found in Hanoi’s Ciputra

Workers at the construction site of the Ciputra Residential Area in Hanoi have unearthed one more ancient tomb after two similar tombs and a perfectly preserved well were discovered here last April.

In late August, the workers found the underground tomb near the main gate of the residential area.

According to archeologist Nguyen Lan Cuong, the tomb is 4.3m long and 0.94m wide and is made of bricks. There are no carved decorative patterns like coins or fish bones on the bricks like the two tombs unearthed last April, Cuong said.

However, an adhesive between the bricks was found, and this is different from the other tombs. Cuong said some artifacts like ceramics and rusty nails were also discovered on the top and bottom of the tomb.

He said the tomb may date back to 4th to 6th century, the same era as the two previous tombs.

The tomb together with the two tombs and the well discovered last April were buried at 2m underground which Cuong said they belonged to government officials and traders at the time.

On the evening of April 1 when workers were working on roads and installing plumbs in an area next to a road leading to Thang Long Bridge, they hit a tomb made of refined bricks.

The big tomb is 4.7 m long and 2 m wide and high. They later discovered a smaller tomb 2 m long, 1.2 m wide and 1 m lying parallel to the first one. There are Chinese writings on these two tombs but their meanings have not been deciphered.

After 10 days of excavation, the Institute of Archaeology collected 28 artifacts from the big one, 5 others from the small one, 9 rusty nails and some charred rice grains.

The most valuable find is a beautiful vase shaped like a rooster.

The well is said to resemble the one at Thang Long Citadel.

“I think under the tombs and wells, there are possibly remnants of a whole village by the Red River,” Cuong said.

Ben Tre exhibition features 20th century life

An exhibition featuring 300 objects and photos about everyday life of local residents in the southern province of Ben Tre in the 20th century is being held at Ben Tre Museum.

The objects include family utensils and tools used in farming, fishing and traditional crafts such as weaving, sugar and salt making.

Hand tools like ploughs, rice mills and mortars which have been replaced by machines are also being displayed.

The exhibition will run until the end of December.

Silk portraits of women on display in HCMC

An exhibition titled “Place of Frivolousness” featuring 18 silk portraits of urban women by renowned painter Bui Tien Tuan is now open in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Silk is like a traditional music instrument,” Tuan said. “So like a musician, a painter have to find ways to handle it and make it harmonized with other instruments in an orchestra.”

Born in 1971 in Hoi An City in the central province of Quang Nam, Tuan graduated from the HCMC University of Fine Art in 1998.

In 2009, he organized an exhibition titled “Silk” featuring his silk paintings of suburban women at Tu Do Gallery in HCMC.

Last year, he received the Silver Medal at the National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010 in Hanoi. Tuan’s works have been displayed in Thailand, the UK and Korea.

He is now lecturer of the HCMC University of Fine Arts, and member of the HCMC Association of Fine Arts.

The exhibition will run until September 12 at Craig Thomas Gallery's annex gallery space in District 2's Thao Dien Ward and then move to Craig Thomas Gallery's main gallery at 27 Tran Nhat Duat Street in District 1 where it will run until September 25.

Ancient temple with royal documents in poor shape

The ancient Trung Hoa temple in Duc Tan town, where 24 sac phong (titles and other royal conferment) are stored, is badly run-down.

Nguyen Van Linh, people’s committee vice chairman of this Quang Ngai Province town, said locals had donated money to restore the temple but its state only worsened due to the lack of professional restoration efforts.

“The most urgent task now is determining the age of the sac phong and drafting a plan to restore the ancient temple,” Nguyen Dang Vu, director of the central province’s culture department, said.

Sac phong were made on some special kinds of Vietnamese paper with the imperial dragon seal used only by kings.

They came in two types. Sac phong chuc tuoc, (conferment on “humans”), which bestowed titles or eulogized people for their deeds, were the property of individuals and their families.

Sac phong than (conferment on lords), which certified and ranked genies and patron saints worshiped in temples and communal houses, were considered village property.

Stamps on renowned educator released

A stamp collection honoring the lifetime devotion of the late educator Tran Van Giau to the country’s revolution and education was released Tuesday at the Southeast Region Armed Forces Museum in the southern province of Long An.

The 43x32mm “Birth centenary of Tran Van Giau (6-9-1911 - 6-9-2011) stamp set is designed by painters Do Lenh Tuan and Nguyen Du.

It depicts Giau’s portrait against the background of the national flag. On the right of the stamp is the Ho Chi Minh Medal.

One stamp’s denomination is VND2,000.

At the releasing ceremony, the educator’s family said they will donate 3,000 book titles to the province’s library.

Giau is not only well-known for the revolution and in the education sector but also a famous historian and philosopher with many valuable works.

He was born in An Luc Long commune, Chau Thanh district in Long An province in 1911.

When he was 20, he went to France to study. In 1930, he was expelled from France after taking part in a protest in front of the French President’s palace to demand removal of the death penalty for Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers back home.

In October 1943, he was appointed as Party Secretary of South Vietnam and Chairman of Southern Resistance Committee in September 1945.

He was bestowed the titles of People’s Teacher, Labor Hero, Ho Chi Minh Award, Ho Chi Minh Medal and other honorable badges.

Last December, he passed away at the age of 100.

Comic artist Nguyen Thanh Phong from Hanoi came first with one of the Special Jury Prizes for best artworks at the Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest 2011 held from August 26 to 29 in Guiyang, Guizhou, China.

With his comic “Nguoi hoa ho” or “Man-turned-tiger”, Phong was awarded Best Comics Strips and a cash prize of CNY 10,000 (US$ 1,500).

Now in its fifth year, the Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest, themed “Green Cartoon, Creative Future” this year dedicates to bringing in young Asian comic talents from all over the world and has attracted hundreds of entries from 70 countries and territories.

Besides competitions, industry promotion activities, discussion forums and workshops were parts of the festival.

Born in 1985 in Hanoi, Hai Phong studied fine art at the University of Fine Art (Hanoi) but has chosen to pursue comics and animation since he was a student.

In 2010, Phong’s “Bicof stories” got published in “Liquid City”, a Southeast Asian comic collection featuring artworks of outstanding artists in the region.

The collection’s prime mover is Sonny Liew, a Malaysian who in 2007 was nominated for an Eisner Award — the comic-book equivalent of an Oscar, Time reported earlier this year.

Phong has also represented Vietnam at many international comic festivals such as the Spanish Espai Cromatic or the Korean Buchoen festival.

Vietnamese hotel and resort top Asia

Hanoi’s Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel and Hoi An’s The Nam Hai Resort have just been voted as the best hotel and resort in Asia by online magazine Smart Travel Asia which have around 1 million readers over the world.

The two Vietnam’s representatives beat 23 other competitors to win the voting and won top at the list of Top 25 Leisure Hotels and Resorts in Asia.

They are followed by the first runner-up Hongkong’s Peninsula Hotel and the second runner-up Bali’s Amandari Hotel.

The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel also ranks eighteenth in the list of Asia’s 25 best hotels for businessmen and eighth in the list of Asia’s 25 best hotels for workshop organizing while the Nam Hai Resort enters top 3 of hotels which have best spa services in Asia.

Vijay Verghese, director of the Smart Travel Asia magazine said the position of Vietnamese hotels in the voting proves the increasing attraction of Vietnam to worldwide tourists.

Hanoi exhibition honors Vietnam War journalist

100 photos about the Vietnam War taken by the late Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett will be exhibited in Hanoi from September 14 to 16 to mark his 100th birthday.

George Burchett, the journalist’s son, will take part in the event to talk about his father’s books about Vietnam: The Northern Side of the 17th Parallel, Guerrilla Warfare, The Stories from inside the Revolutionary Bases, and The North Vietnam.

On Monday, the late journalist was conferred a medal by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations for his contributions to promote friendship between Vietnam and other nations.

Born in 1922 in Melbourne, Burchett was known for his coverage of conflicts in Asia and his Communist sympathies.

Burchett began his career in journalism in 1940 and was the first foreign correspondent to be in Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped.

He always supported Vietnam during the Vietnam War and was a close friend of Ho Chi Minh.

Burchett passed away at 72 in Bulgaria.
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Ceremony to honor late French anthropologist

A memorial ceremony will be held tomorrow for French anthropologist Georges Condominas who spent his entire life studying the Mnong Gar people in Vietnam at L’Escape in Hanoi.

The ceremony, titled “Georges Condominas – the last Mnong Gar person,” will be held under the auspices of an exhibition on the life of the Ba Na people living in the Central Highlands.

Born in the northern city of Hai Phong to a French father and Portuguese-Vietnamese mother, Condominas returned to Vietnam in 1940 after studying in France and spent many years in a Mnong Gar village for his studies.

He obtained the villagers' permission to build a house and became a real local who participated in every communal activity.

In 1957 he published his famous “Nous avons mange la foret de la pierre - genie Goo” which was later published in English as "We Have Eaten the Forest."

In 2009 he received the Vietnam Studies Award from the Phan Chau Trinh Cultural Foundation for cultural research.

He passed away at the age of 90 in Paris due to a heart attack on July 17.

Authorities slap light penalty on decency flouter

Quang Binh Province’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism has just announced a VND3.5 million (US$175) fine against the organizer of last month’s charity show in which many performers have been criticized for donning skimpy costumes.

Nguyen Mau Nam, vice director of the Department, told Tuoi Tre that JITA International Advertising Services Co. Ltd is fined because it allowed many singers to wear clothes and costumes “not appropriate with Vietnamese culture and customs” during last month’s “Night of Beauties” charity music show on August 14.

But to some people, the penalty is too lenient to serve as a deterrent to others.

“A VND3.5 million fine is just a slap on the wrist on the show’s organizer,” said Vuong Duy Bien, head of the Department of Performing Arts.

Bien said the show aimed to raise money for the poor but participating artists like Hoang Thuy Linh, Thu Minh, Yen Trang, and Minh Hang were not aware of its beautiful meaning and picked the wrong costumes for the occasion.

“An outfit can look gorgeous in a fashion show but it cannot be suitable in all other shows and all other places,” Bien added.

Several Vietnamese artists including singer Ho Quynh Huong and two fashion models Bebe Pham and Ha Anh have been fined for the same infraction in the past.

Elsewhere in the world, authorities in Malaysia in 2006 fined a local organizer of the U.S. girl band Pussycats Dolls for flouting the country’s decency laws.

In 2003 U.S. rock band Linkin Park were banned from wearing shorts while performing in the country, while in 2004 singer Mariah Carey was asked to comply with dress regulations.