Thai artists depict Vietnam’s architecture, life

‘New and Old Architecture in Vietnam’ at the HCMC Fine Arts Museum presents the unique insights of four Thai artists.

There are 114 works made of pencil on paper or water color on paper by Thirasak Wongcumnan, Somyot Kumsang, Suwit Jaipom and Direk Kingnok. The artists depict works about architecture, daily life, landscapes and people in Vietnam via their travels to famous tourist sites around the country.

There are more than 50 sketches which cover not only buildings but also landscapes and lifestyles of Hanoi, HCMC, Hue and Halong Bay which are expressed beautifully and clearly. Therefore, tramping around the show, visitors have a chance to see Notre Dame Cathedral, old streets in Hoi An or cyclos in Hanoi’s French Quarter, dragons or elephants and familiar images from around the country.

Professor Hoang Dao Kinh was impressed with the collection.

The art expert said: “The artists introduce to us scenery which sometimes we take for granted but now that these scenes are on display, we feel we can love our country a little more. Although the Thai artists traveled in a strange land, they could feel the soul, the beauty and love in everywhere they visited. And their brushes reflect very well what they saw and what they felt.”

The show runs until Thursday at the museum, 97A Pho Duc Chinh Street in District 1.

Eggshell designer celebrates Teachers’ Day in style
 
Nguyen Thanh Tam, who creates illustration eggshell models to help students understand more about their English lessons, celebrated Teachers’ Day on Sunday by completing his new piece Thay do day hoc (Confucian teacher’s class).

After having experimented with cardboard, steel cans, straw, ceramics and plastic bags, Tam, a teacher based in Go Vap District, in 2002 found out he could easily make parts of the human anatomy with the eggshells of a chicken, duck, goose or ostrich.

Tam uses needles to draw the whole inner from intact eggs and exposes them to the sun so that they totally dry out. With medical scissors and glue, cotton wool, paint and water-color, Tam turns eggshells into different parts of human bodies and animals.

The English teacher at first only made simple models of penguins and mice but he has gradually succeeded in making more models such as Po, the main character in movie ‘Kung Fu Panda’, the Indonesian Komodo dragon, tigers, elephants or even a football team. Over the years, Tam has created 500 works from eggshells based on stories or events of national and international culture, sports and history.

Vietnam Guinness Record last year recognized Tam for his huge volume of eggshell models.

Tam has begun creating a dragon model to welcome 2012, which is the Year of the Dragon in the lunar calendar, and he plans to carry out other themes relating to the four supernatural creatures of China.

Indian artist with Down’s Syndrome raises funds for Vietnamese brethren  

A special painting exhibition by amateur Indian artist Karishma Kannan to raise funds for mentally and physically challenged children in Vietnam will open Nov 25 in Ho Chi Minh City.

"Karishma – the miracle," carrying the theme "I can, you can, we can” includes 45 paintings by 20-year-old Karishma, born with Down's Syndrome.

Her special love for and interest in colors was noticed by her parents who encouraged her to draw as way to improve and concentrate her mind on a certain things as well as to control her actions.

When the family left their country for Ho Chi Minh City in 2008, Karishma met Cyndi Beaumont, an English teacher and painter in District 2, who shared her love for painting with the girl and taught her how to draw.

Karishma understands and does exactly what her teacher tells her to do as the teacher always encourages her, saying that she is a real talent.

Says Cyndi Beaumont, “Karishma’s artworks show her true love for painting. They express her pure, open spirit as a child.”

Karishma’s painting style has also been described as "full of generosity with bright blocks of color, showing a pure heart filled with love and nature."

The 45 paintings presented at the exhibition are Karishma’s reflections on her trips to Nha Trang Beach in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, Cambodia, and Bali in Indonesia.

The exhibition, co-organized and supported by the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City, Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, former CEO of Pepsi Co. in Indochina, and the Management of the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, will open from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the hotel's Auditorium.

The Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon is located at No. 8-15 Ton Duc Thang, District 1.

Champ body builder loses in reality show

Champ body builder Pham Van Mach and partner Van Mai Huong, the most popular couple of the weekly live broadcast show “Just the two of us,” were eliminated last night after their performances failed to please both the judges and the audience.

The pair’s elimination came as a surprise to many observers, as the sportsman and his partner, who was Vietnam Idol 2010’s runner up, have always been considered one of the top pairs.

However, last night their first collaboration, “Love story”, got a 34, the lowest score, and was deemed “unconvincing” by singer and judge Siu Black, who said they acted too much and that the singing part was unimpressive.

Filmmaker and panel member Le Hoang agreed and said Mach, who only performed a small part and danced for the rest of the song, did not sing very clearly.

The champion sportsman has grabbed media attention for his impressive singing ability since the British singing show kicked off in Ho Chi Minh in early October. Mach even said in an interview to newswire Giao Duc Vietnam he might consider a music career.

However, his recent failure at the 2011 World Bodybuilding Championship held in Malaysia in mid-November, where he came last, was heavily criticized, as many said Mach, one of the strongest competitors there, should have focused more on his main career.

On their second song, Mach and Huong regained their confidence and made a “comeback” singing “Phantom of the Opera”, a duet praised by all the judges for its great harmonious combination.

However, the pair could not make it to the next round.

The show’s Acoustic and Musical Night also witnessed a pleasant surprise with singer Doan Trang and MC Tran Thanh giving a dazzling performance with their “Ngau hung song Hong – oi que toi” and the “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” musical.

Playing Esmeralda and Quasimodo, the pair won 40 points for the first performance and 39 for their second song.

Singer Dam Vinh Hung and actress Kim Thu continued to be show’s favorite pair, as it has been estimated 37.74 percent viewers voted for them.

Acoustic songs and musicals seemed to be the competitor’s strong points, as the other pairs, Tien Dung and singer Phuong Linh, and actor Ngoc Ngoan, with singer Ngoc Anh were all praised by the judges for their performances.

South Korean girl band 2NE1 rocks Hanoi

More than 3,000 fans of the popular South Korean girl band 2NE1 flocked to Hanoi's National Convention Center on Saturday night to attend their idol’s concert.

At the show, titled “Idols’ night - Going together Concert in Vietnam with 2NE1”, the four-piece band sang their hits including “Fire”, “I don't care”, “Can't nobody”, “In the club”, “Go away”, “Hate you” and “Ugly”.

Though the group only arrived in Vietnam the day before the show, the four girls pleased their fans by learning and saying some Vietnamese phrases like “Xin chao” (Hello), “Toi yeu cac ban” (I love you), “Ten toi la…” (My name is…).

Additonally, Vietnam Idol 2007 Phuong Vy wowed audiences with her cover of 2NE1’s hit “Lonely”, while Vietnam Idol 2008 runner-up Thanh Duy amazed with his performance of the song “Fate”, from the sound track of the famous Korean movie “Full house”.

At the end of the concert, the organizers handed over VND300million (US$15,000) for Vietnamese students with good academic results.

The concert, held by the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and Silkroad C&T, aimed to exchange pop culture between Korea and Vietnam as well as create chances for Vietnamese fans to meet their idols.

Formed by YG Entertainment in 2009, the 4-piece group comprises CL, Dara, Bom and Minzy. The band's name stands for New Evolution of the 21st Century.

Their debut single "Fire" was released on May 6, 2009 and received over one million views online in the first 24 hours after it became available. In 2009, their hit single “I Don't Care” was named 2009's Best Selling Song on local music sites Bugs, Monkey3, and Cyworld.

One year later, 2NE1 won the Artist of the Year prize and Album of the Year award for “To Anyone” at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, in addition to awards for Best Female Group and Best Music Video for "Can't Nobody”.

Cultural Heritage Day opens in Hanoi

The 7th Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day was launched at the Vietnam Culture and Arts Exhibition Center in Hanoi on November 21 as part of the tourism culture week on the northcentral region’s heritages.  

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Khanh Hai said the aim is to honour Vietnamese cultural values and introduce the northcentral region’s potential for tourism development.

The highlight of the event include a festival on Son Dong craft village, a lullaby singing contest, a costume show for elderly people and an art performance depicting the cultural beauty of some central provinces including Hue, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Nghe An and Ha Tinh.

They are in response to the National Tourism Year for Central Coastal Region-Hue 2012.

French friends impressed by Vietnamese culture

Traditional Vietnamese music performances left deep impressions on international friends in France.

The music and dance program entitled “My Glorious Village”, was held in Orsay, France, on November 20, as part of the Vietnam Cultural and Music Festival, and it attracted a large number of foreign visitors.

The stage sets depicted a traditional Vietnamese village and the performers sang folksongs and played traditional musical instruments.

Nguyet Anh, Head of the Orsay Traditional Culture, Music and Education Association (OCTAVE), said that the event aimed to help overseas Vietnamese children, who learn their mother tongue only from parents, relatives and school, understand more about traditional Vietnamese cultural values and also introduce Vietnamese culture in France.

Anh said all proceeds from the program will be donated to poor Vietnamese children in the homeland.

Established in 2007, OCTAVE now has 50 members, about 30 of whom are French. The Association has held many cultural activities and organized a number of training courses on traditional Vietnamese music.

Good winds for Mui Ne Sailing Regatta

Manta Sail Training Center in Mui Ne is inviting registrations for its first annual sailing regatta on 17-18 December near the coastal resort town’s fishing port.

Entrants for the Manta Regatta can supply their own boats to race in or select from one from the eight boats in the Manta fleet which include Lasers, Open Bics, RS Terras and Fevas.

Eleven teams have already signed up including teams from Hanoi, HCMC, Hong Kong, Vung Tau and Mui Ne. Men, women foreigners and Vietnamese are represented. Teams can be single or double.

“There is definitely room for more teams to register as it would be more convenient to have teams in multiples of eight,” Manta owner Julia Shaw said.

“We’ve got really good winds this season already,” Shaw said adding that Manta is an ideal sailing venue as it provides protection from the Northeast with winds increasing further out from shore.

The schedule for the two days starts with a briefing at 9.30 a.m. followed by the start of the races at 10. Shaw said a minimum of six races and maximum of 12 races will be held each day with handicaps for the smaller boats.

Shaw also announced that Manta has a new manager. Nguyen Van La has a Vietnamese skippers license, is an experienced boat builder and has sailed outside of Vietnamese waters. Vietnamese sailing coaches will also be on hand at the regatta with tips and advice during the event.

To register go to the website www.mantasailing .org or email the organizer Julia Shaw at juliashaw2@gmail.com. The US$50 registration for the two days also includes lunches.

Central Highlands opens its largest museum
   
The Dak Lak People’s Committee on November 21 held a ceremony to inaugurate the Dak Lak Museum, the largest of its kind in the Central Highlands region.

The museum’s design is based on the architecture of the traditional long house of the Ede ethnic minority, the most populous ethnic group in Dak Lak province.

It is built with the assistance of French museum experts in partnership with the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology at a cost of nearly VND80 billion. Work on the construction of the museum began in February, 2008.

Covering an area of 9,200 sq.m, the museum, which measures 130 metres long and 65 metres wide, includes three display areas with the major themes of biodiversity, national culture and history.

On the inauguration day, the museum put on show 1,000 objects, photos, documentaries and posters representing the historical development and outstanding cultural values of people and nature in the region, from the Stone Age to the present time.

As the first museum in Vietnam using four display languages – in this case Vietnamese, French, English and the Ede, Dak Lak Museum is expected to be an attractive cultural destination for both domestic and foreign visitors who want to explore the history and culture of ethnic minorities in Dak Lak.

Cambodian Art Troupe performs in Vinh Long

The Cambodian Royal Art Troupe gave a performance in Vinh Long City on November 19, following shows held in Ho Chi Minh City the previous week.

The show included 35 Cambodian artists performing traditional dances such as the Apsara, Panpipe, and Suvanna Machaha, that reflect the legends, work, culture and daily lives of Cambodian people. They also sang songs praising the solidarity between Vietnam and Cambodia.

The performance was part of the “Cambodian Cultural Week in Vietnam 2011” which was organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in association with the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, to promote and strengthen the friendship between the two neighbouring countries.

Da Nang to host International Paramotor Competition 2012  

Da Nang City will host the International Paramotor Competition 2012 on May 30, 2012 at the Bien Dong Park, according to Phung Tan Viet, Deputy Chairman of Da Nang People’s Committee.

8 teams from Japan, Argentina, Korea, China, Spain, the U.K, France and the US will participate in 70 competitions at the paragliding event.

The 5-day event will include competitions in racing, speed flying, team flying and rescue flying. The cost of the competition event is estimated at VND 14 billion from non-government funding.

The central coastal city of Da Nang plans to establish a local team of contestants who hold International Paramotor Certificates.

The event is being organized by CATI Communications, an Events Management Company in Da Nang, the AiREA Consultancy Company and the Japan Aeronautical Sports Association.
 
HCMC presents stamp exhibition in support of green environment  

A stamp exhibition titled “For a Green Environment” is being held at the Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum on 2 Le Duan Street in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City.  

The exhibition displays postal stamps collected by 30 collectors on a varied array of   environmental subjects such as nature, the environment, plants, animals, Vietnamese people, history, the country as a whole and the world in general.

The display aims to support environment protection activities in Vietnam and mark the International Year of Forests by the United Nations to raise awareness and strengthen sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests.

The stamp exhibition will also mark the 4th anniversary of the establishment of the Viet Stamp Club, the main organizers of the exhibition.