HCM City hosts 4th ornamental tree festival 2010 

The fourth ornamental tree festival 2010 is being held in the Suoi Tien Tourist Area, Ho Chi Minh City from December 22 to January 3, 2011.

The annual festival showcases more than 5,000 exhibits of various varieties of ornamental trees and plants including bonsais, orchids and cacti.

More than 50 artisans along with some flower clubs and companies from across the country will participate.

Over 160 booths will display exotic ornamental plants varieties and some will also display ornamental birds, decorative fruit arrangements and rock garden displays.

The highlights of the festival will be the bird singing competition, dog show and exquisite ornamental fish.

The festival is expected to attract a large number of visitors and will also be an opportunity for artisans to exchange and share information on the methods of caring and collecting ornamental plants.

Promoting and preserving Southern amateur music 

Professor Tran Van Khe, the great master of traditional Vietnamese music, gave a lecture on don ca tai tu Nam bo (Southern amateur music) at his home in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. 

Don ca tai tu Nam bo is a long standing cultural tradition in the Mekong Delta region since the end of the 19th century.

The professor explained how this music is usually performed in festivals, ceremonious worships, parties, weddings and also funerals. It is traditionally played by southerners in the evening after a long working day.

Amateur musicians and singers who wish to train further and improve their skills in playing this folk music usually gather at a member’s house to play and exchange notes.

Southern amateur music cannot be found on modern day stage or in cultural and tourist festivals. This musical art form, a genre of the old chamber of music, is usually performed on ‘plank beds’ in living rooms in southern traditional homes.

The instruments used are the dan co or dan nhi, a two stringed fiddle; dan tranh or dan thap luc, a 16 string zither; dan kim or dan nguyet (also called the moon guitar) and the doc huyen cam (monochord). In present times the monochord has been replaced with a guitar.

According to Mr.Vinh Bao, another master of this traditional Vietnamese music, a special feature of Don ca tai tu is to bring together people who want to share the same emotions and to reach out to the sensibilities of the audience.

However, both the masters lamented that this art form had fallen into the realm of cultural oblivion and felt the need to restore and preserve this valuable cultural heritage.

The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has asked the National Music Institute and departments of Culture, Sport and Tourism in the South to build a file on southern music for submission to UNESCO  for recognition as an intangible part of the Vietnamese cultural heritage.

Lao national art troupe performs in Vietnam

The Lao national art troupe has been giving performances in Vietnam from December 21-28 as part of the Lao Cultural Week in Vietnam.

The 35-member troupe brings audiences outstanding traditional dances and songs highlighting the special friendship between the two countries.

The troupe will give three performances at the Hanoi Opera House tonight, Song Huong theatre, Bac Giang province on December 25 and at the Military Theatre in Hanoi on December 26.

Vietnam Fashion Fair opens

The Vietnam Fashion Fair 2010 opened at the Vietnam Exhibition and Fair Centre, 148 Giang Vo street in Hanoi on December 22.

The fair brings together over 100 enterprises with over 200 booths displaying a wide range of products of textile, footwear, handbags, jewelry and accessories.

Many activities will be held during the event, including a hair festival, a fashion show, and a programme on providing free hair cuts for visitors by hair designers from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The fair, which is co-organised by the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, the Vietnam Gold Traders Association and the Vietnam Exhibition and Fair Centre to welcome Christmas 2010 and New Year 2011, will last until December 27.

Artworks on country’s sea and islands go on show

An exhibition entitled ‘The Country’s Sea and Islands’ opened at Exhibition House, 16 Ngo Quyen street in Hanoi on December 21.

The exhibition displays 173 artworks in various genres of propaganda posters, paintings, sculptures, graphics and composites.

They reflect the beauty of the land and the people’s life in marine and islands areas, marine economic achievements during the national renewal process and the sovereignty over Vietnam’s sea and islands.

The 173 works by 147 artists displayed in the exhibition were selected from more than 800 entries submitted since the composition launch was announced by the Vietnam Fine Arts Association in May this year. This aims at promoting people’s patriotism and raising their awareness of marine resource exploitation and ecological environmental protection as well as the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Twenty two awards were named, including two first, three second, four third and 13 consolation prizes at a press conference held on December 21 in Hanoi.

Addressing the event, President of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, Tran Khanh Chuong, who is also head of the organising board, said that the exhibits showed the creativity, skill and professionalism of Vietnamese artists.

Oil painting ‘Dat Nuoc’ (The Country) by young painter Tran Xuan Binh from Hanoi earned the first prize in the paintings and sculptures category. The painting, presented in bright colours and harmonious composition, portrays a naval soldier standing amid the letters from his relatives at homeland. Tran Xuan Binh previously won the bronze medal of the National Fine Arts Exhibition which recently took place in early December for the ‘Ngay Binh Yen’ (A Peaceful Day), oil painting on canvas.

Two second prizes went to Ho Minh Quan from Ho Chi Minh City for his oil painting ‘Qua Tang Cua Bien’ (The Sea’s Gifts), depicting the fishermen’s happiness for getting a good haul of fish, and Hoang Mai Thiep from Hai Duong province with the wood and iron artworks entitled ‘Nguoc Dong’ (Upstream), illustrating the marine resource conservation.

Three third and eight consolation prizes were given to other artists.

‘Bao Ve Chu Quyen Bien Dao To Quoc Viet Nam’ (Protecting Sovereignty over the Sea and Islands of Vietnam) by Nguyen Thuy Lien from Hanoi won the first prize for propaganda posters. One second, one third and five consolation prizes were granted in the category.

According to President Chuong, the Fine Arts Publishing House planned to publish the awarded artworks in picture books and send them to naval soldiers as a present to express the gratitude and appreciation for their contributions on the country’s protection

The exhibition, which is being held to welcome the 11th National Party Congress and the 66th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army, will last until December 31. An awards ceremony honouring the winners will take place on the same day.

Award given to novel on Lam Son uprising

Fourteen winners of a novel writing contest were honoured at an awards ceremony in Hanoi on December 21.

Writer Nguyen Quang Than was presented with the A prize, worth VND 30,000,000, for his novel ‘Hoi The’ (The Oath Ceremony) based upon the last days of the Lam Son uprising. Three B prizes, worth VND 20,000,000 each, were presented to ‘Quyen’ by Nguyen Huu Tho, ‘Chan Troi Mua Ha’ (Summer Horizon) by Huu Phuong and ‘Vung Lom’ (The Hollow) by Nguyen Quang Ha.

Ten C prizes were also granted at the ceremony.

The contest was first launched in 1998 by the Vietnam Writers’ Association. This year’s contest which received 247 entries focused on three major themes of historical novels, resistance wars and the country’ renewal process in rural to urban areas.

UNESCO commits assistance to Vietnam’s cultural preservation

A representative of UNESCO in Vietnam affirmed continued assistance to Vietnam in its preservation of cultural heritages in 2011.

The organisation will stand side by side with Vietnam in preserving and promoting heritage values via new co-operation programmes and projects, UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Katherine Muller Marin said at a press briefing in Hanoi on December 21.

UNESCO recognition of the doctoral stone steles in Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature); Thang Long Royal Citadel; Dong Van Karst Plateau, and Giong Festival as world heritages showed Vietnam’s success in preserving, promoting and upholding the value of heritages in 2010, she said.

The success also represents the efforts and consideration of the government, she added.

The UNESCO Chief Representative called for Vietnamese people and relevant agencies to be more responsible in the preservation and popularisation of cultural heritages.

Vietnam’s landscapes through Van Duong Thanh strokes

An exhibition named “Mot thoang huong que” (A glimpse of hometown) by leading Asian female artist Van Duong Thanh is on at the five-star Rex Hotel Saigon in HCMC’s District 1 to mark the launch of the hotel’s new lobby and the return of artist Van Duong Thanh after her exhibition at the HCMC Fine Arts Museum 20 years ago.

Gérard Boivineau, consul general of France in HCMC who is also a close friend of the artist, cut the ribbon and made the speech at the opening ceremony of the exhibition. The exhibition showcases 70 oil paintings which mostly feature landscapes in the South of Vietnam, from Saigon to the Mekong Delta in the past and at the present. All the artworks were painted in strong and bright colors which carry deep emotion and feelings of Thanh towards the images of nature, women, children and ancient architecture. 

“I painted all these artworks will all my heart and enthusiasm with a hope to bring the beauty and joy to everybody,” said Van Duong Thanh.

Van Duong Thanh was born in Phu Yen Province and studied the art of paintings for twelve years during difficult times of war. She was also a student of late well-known artist Bui Xuan Phai. She lives in both Vietnam and Sweden where she teaches paintings.

Thanh has also been known in the world for her 65 international exhibitions. Some of her 1,600 works have been displayed at museums in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Sweden. Thanh has been conferred the title of “Nguoi vinh danh dat Viet” (person who brings glory to Vietnam) and “Dai su van hoa cua Vietnam” (Vietnam’s cultural ambassador).

The exhibition runs until June 30, 2011 at the lobby of the Rex Hotel Saigon.

PV