Vietnamese books on show in Paris

A book exhibition entitled “Vietnam Nowadays” opened at the Vietnam Culture Centre in Paris, France, on Oct. 22.

On display are over 300 book titles about history, literature, gastronomy and children published by nine publishing houses and two book distributors of Vietnam .

Noteworthy are two historical novels “Eight Dynasties of Ly Kings” and “Stormy Tran Dynasty”, compiled by Hoang Quoc Hai in 20 years and published in 2010 on the occasion of the millennial anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Head of the Vietnamese delegation to the UNESCO, Ambassador Duong Van Quang, expressed his hope that the event would help overseas Vietnamese to have better understanding about culture, national renewal and international integration of Vietnam .

He stressed the need to accelerate the publication of Vietnamese books translated into French language.

The exhibition will run until Oct. 29.

Lao people respond to voting for Ha Long bay

Many campaigns to promote voting for Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay as one of the new seven natural wonders of the world are being launched among Lao pupils and students as well as other social organizations in Laos.

Most universities, high schools and vocational schools are actively responding to the movement.

Young Lao people are using the opportunity to learn more about the land, people and culture of their neighbour Vietnam.

The campaign has even attracted attention from senior Lao officials.

Films promoting Vietnam's culture and tourism are also being screened in Laos.

VNSO conquered US music lovers at its debut

The Vietnam Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) with violist Le Hoai Nam under the baton of popular conductor Honna Tetsuji successfully performed is first concert at Carnegie Hall in New York on October 23.  

Its Adagio for Strings by US composer Samuel Barber, Symphony No.8 G Major Op.88 by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, two Vietnamese folk songs Trong com and Ly hoai nam arranged for the orchestra by Ngo Hoang Quan and the violin concerto Thang Long by Dam Linh received thunderous applause from the audience.

The second concert will be at Symphony Hall in Boston on October 24.

VNSO’s performance tour conveyed a message of peace and friendship to the Americans and other people in the world.

“Vietnam Today” exhibition opens in Paris

An exhibition entitled “Vietnam Today” opened at the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France (VCCF) on October 22.

The opening was attended by Duong Van Quang, Ambassador-Head of the Vietnam Permanent Representative Delegation  to UNESCO in Paris and VCCF Director Le Hong Chuong, as well as a  delegation from the Ministry of Information and Communications and overseas Vietnamese living and working in France.

On display are 300 books on Vietnamese history, literature, and cuisine as well as a number of children’s books.

Ambassador Quang praised the publishers' efforts, saying this is a positive initiative to help overseas Vietnamese learn about their homeland, its culture and its achievements during the process of renewal and international integration.

The exhibition is scheduled to last until October 29.

Vietnam cities host Open Academy 2011  

The “Open Academy” art collaboration experience will follow up its success in 2010 with similar shows in Hue and Ho Chi Minh City next month.

This year, the event will feature artists from the UK, Austria, and Germany.

Installation artist Paul Schwer from Germany, photographer and graphic designer Barnaby Steel (UK) and Austrian video art expert Thomas Feuerstein (Austria) will work with local teachers and hold workshops, lectures and performances for the benefit of local students and art lovers.

In Hue the event will be held Nov 14-18 at the Hue University of Fine Arts, whereas the workshop and other performances in Ho Chi Minh City will be held at the city University of Fine Arts on Nov 21-26.

The Goethe Institute, the British Council and the Austrian Embassy, organizers of the event, said it seeks to strengthen dialog between the European and the Vietnamese art scenes as well as to enrich the education, especially of younger artists, through innovative impulses.

The results of the collaboration will be presented in an exhibition at the end of the workshops in each Academy of Fine Arts, according to a press release from the Goethe Institute this week.

Living and working in Düsseldorf, Paul Schwer, born in 1951, started his artistic career at the Academy of Fine Arts Düsseldorf. His art, which has received national and international awards, deals with the “spatialization of painting” by using various materials, frequently transparent acrylic or glass, but also objects made of wood or metal, which are stained, painted and arranged in space.

Paul Schwer will complete each week of workshops in Hue and HCMC with a “blast” performance using colored glass shards.

The UK’s Barnaby Steel, 33, is a media artist working in London. He joined the media art collective D-Fuse in 2004. With D-Fuse, Steel, winner of numerous awards, became internationally known for his exceptional photography and graphic exhibitions.

His project “Undercurrent”, for example, investigated urban space and its relation to social changes.

Thomas Feuerstein, born in 1968, teaches media art at the Academies of Fine Arts in Bern (Switzerland) and Innsbruck (Austria). As an artist and author in media art and fine art, Feuerstein includes almost all disciplines in his work, with a focus on what he calls “conceptual narration” in collaboration with visual and linguistic elements.

Feuerstein will conduct his workshop together with Wolfgang Rebernik, an Austrian film producer who has lived and worked in Hanoi since 2008.

The above information about the artists was contained in the press release.

The Hue University of Fine Arts is located on 10 To Ngoc Van Str., Hue; and the HCMC University of Fine Arts at 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, Binh Thanh District.

PV