Prize winning photos of cultural heritages announced

A press conference was held in Hanoi on July 28 to announce the prize winning photos from a contest based on Vietnam’s cultural heritages.

The contest aims to promote and preserve the values of Vietnam’s  heritages which have been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

These heritages include ancient Hue, Ha Long Bay, the My Son relics, the ancient town of Hoi An, and a wide range of art forms such as “quan ho” (love duets) and “ca tru” (ceremonial singing).

At the press conference, the organizing board announced the 16 photos which won the highest prizes. They were selected from more than 2,000 entries.

Mr Dang Ngoc Thai, President of the Art Council said that the organizing board has selected 16 high quality artworks which meet the strict requirements of the contest.

In addition, 208 photos from 138 accomplished photographers will be selected for display in Da Nang from August 30 to October 17 and in Hanoi from October 10-17.  

The event was co-organised by the Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition Department, the Department of Cultural Heritages, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists.

HCMC to have a taste of Thai’s culture

A program designed to showcase a panorama of Thailand’s culture will be held this Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City to mark 35 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Titled “Thailand - the Land of Smiles,” the program will offer visitors a chance to learn about Thai tourism, traditional dancing, cuisine and folk games.

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 31 at Youth Culture House at No. 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street in District 1. Admission is free.

Local designer to attend French fashion event  
 
Designer Nguyen Quynh Nhu, better known as Quynh Paris, was invited to take part in the Atmosphere’s fashion event, which will take place from September 3 – 6 in Paris, France.

The event will gather and showcase the work of high fashion designers from all over the world.

Quynh Paris, who graduated from Parisian Mode’ Art International, was the sole Vietnamese designer chosen by Prêt-à-Porter Paris, the show’s organizer, to attend the show.

Quynh shot to fame after her clothing was featured at a number of prestigious cultural events including Duyen dang Vietnam (Charming Vietnam) held last year.

She also sponsored the creation of an evening gown for Vietnamese representative Diem Huong at the Miss Earth pageant 2010, in Vietnam.

Quynh will introduce her latest collection called Thien nhien mo ao (Illusory nature) at the annual event.

Vietnam royal family belongings on display in Da Lat  

The Lam Dong Museum has opened an exhibition of the belongings of Nguyen Dynasty Empress Nam Phuong (1914-1963) as well as other members of the royal family.
 
The collection, including 124 artifacts and photographs, is being displayed at the classic French-styled Nam Phuong Palace.  

They objects include a desk used by crown prince Bao Long, the empress’s embroidery table, a set of silver tea cups and pot, and photos of princes and princesses.

Museum director Pham Huu Tho said the display offers visitors a new perspective into the daily life of Vietnamese royalty.

Empress Nam Phuong, born Marie-Thérèse Nguyen Thi Huu Lan to Nguyen Huu Hao, a wealthy merchant from the south of Vietnam, was the first and official wife of Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam.

She also was the first and the only empress of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).

Both Lam Dong Museum and Nam Phuong Palace were built by her father on a high hill on Hung Vuong Street in Da Lat, capital of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, as gift to his daughter in the 1930s.

L’Espace Hanoi to screen French animation film  
   
L’Espace in Hanoi will screen Kirikou Et Les Betes Sauvages (Kirikou and Wild Animals), a 2006 cartoon film by French directors Michel Ocelot and Bénédicte Galup, on December 23.

A grandfather sitting in a green cave tells his grandchildren: “The story about Kirikou and the witch is too short. We did not have the time to talk about all the things Kirikou has achieved. And he has done interesting and good things that we are not allowed to forget.  Now I will tell you these stories."

Then the grandfather tells the story of how creative Kirikou, small and brave, becomes a gardener, a detective, a ceramic trader, a businessman, an astronaut and a doctor.

Tickets (VND10,000-VND20,000) are on sale at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

Germany helps Hue to restore relic

The German Conservation, Restoration and Education Project (GCREP) has offered financial and technical support to restore the Nguyen Dynasty’s Toi Linh Temple in Hue city.

Under the plan, Hue city will complete restoration work, which will cost VND2.9billion (US$145,000), in June 2012.

Of this amount, VND2.7billion (US$135,000) will come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and the rest from Hue city’s Relics Preservation Centre.

Besides restoration, German experts in relic restoration will also offer a training course for at least 6 Vietnamese technicians.

GCREP last year also gave Hue VND 3.4 billion (US$170,000) to restore the Buu Thanh gate and King Tu Duc’s tomb.

Vietnam History Museum to display ancient gems

Around 140 ancient items such as golden swords and royal seals studded with gems will be exhibited at Vietnam History Museum in Hanoi on August 2.

The exhibition, titled “Vietnamese Ancient Gems,” will be the first of its kind organized by the history museum. Most of the gems are dated from the Le and Nguyen dynasties. Some, however, were much older.

The highlight of the collection is gem-inlaid paintings and statues such as exquisite Eight Immortals and Chinese Zodiac statues, which were created by artisans during the Nguyen dynasty in the 19th century.

Eight Immortals are a group of legendary saints in Chinese mythology while Chinese Zodiac is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year cycle.

However, what makes Vietnam’s gem-inlaid paintings different from paintings of the same kind by Chinese artisans is the way they were created. For example, the Buddhist statues in the Eight Immortals collection have chignons and oval faces, which is very different to Chinese statues.

The number of precious gems had belonged to Nguyen Dynasty’s royal treasures before being handed over to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) after the August Revolution on August 19, 1945.

A sandwich adventure

Vietnamese – Canadian Nguyen Viet Uyen Thu has published a cuisine – tourism book titled “My quest for yummy banh mi” featuring all aspects of the Vietnamese sandwich, from its history to regional variations and tips to places to find the best banh mi.

She spent three months from April to travel across Vietnam to learn with street vendors, home bakeries, families, restaurants, and culinary schools, and captured the regional differences in her book.

Thu, born in 1981 in Ho Chi Minh Chi City, left for Canada when she was four. She studied computer engineering and worked in Silicon Valley in the US for five years.
In 2001 she returned home for the first time since leaving to create a website for the Norfolk Group.

That trip became a turning point in her life.

“The trip opened my eyes to how large and interesting this world is.

“It started many events I took part in during the last 10 years and inspired my ambitions in cuisine, tourism, and photography and the desire to share my experiments with people who have the same ambitions,” Thu wrote in the book released July 21.

After returning to North America, her memories of the Vietnam trip and the diversity of the country’s cuisine persuaded Thu with no formal culinary or photography training to quit her job and set up a cuisine website.

“Bring your favorite restaurant recipes home” is the slogan of http://youcook.ca which features recipes and lessons from chefs around the world.

It was then that the idea of writing a book about Vietnamese banh mi first struck her.
Thu raised money for publishing it through the website and began her quest in Vietnam.

Now that the book is done and dusted, she hopes to connect with foodies in general and especially Vietnamese.

“You can share with me your cool experiments on youcook.ca. And don’t forget to recommend to me what you want to enjoy -- A ‘My quest for yummy pho’ or ‘My quest for yummy bun’?” she says with a smile.

“My quest for yummy banh mi”is available at http://youcook.ca and www.questforyummy.com.

Rare ‘basic’ artists at San Art

‘Shaping A Line’ will see the best of a rare aspect of contemporary Vietnamese art via drawings on paper at San Art in District 1 from 6 p.m. tonight.

The mediums of ink, watercolor, pencil and charcoal are not new to Vietnamese art, but local artists who pursue this basic form of expression as their main focus are hard to come by.

The exhibition, which runs until September 8, will showcase the work of eight local artists whose training is in various backgrounds, such as architecture, illustration, animation and fashion.

Nguyen Bao Ngoc’s sketches are the physical mechanism of fashion design, where the pencil line articulates a sculpture, or perhaps resembles old machines from ancient times. Sita Raiter covers the paper surface with flower motifs, strange forms found in nature, insects’ eyes and beehive structures; as if right from the beginning of time they have been the inspiration and basis of forming and expanding the structure of cities on Thursday.

Phan Ngoc Lan Chi’s black and white shadowed portraits of female singers are insinuated, as if the veils of the past are being lifted to disclose a corner of their inner mind or life. While Nguyen Hong Quang chooses to portray the life of cyclo drivers in HCMC as his figures morph into a kind of abstraction not dissimilar to a narrative of a surreal strip of cinema.

Le Thanh Tung will impress with large-scale black and white drawings which often artistically transform the interior surfaces of existing architecture, reflecting the youth of today and their desire to break free of the stereotypical roles in society.

In the work of Le Hoang Bich Phuong, the intricate beauty of Vietnamese silk painting reveals a contorted world where the fragility of a growing mind is thrown into chaos. Meanwhile, in Sandrine Llouquet’s work visitors can see a game of hide and seek taking shape in the form of camouflage, invisibility and transparency as she highlights the misfortunes of life.

Vu Dan Tan’s liberal expression, borderless imagination and humorous charisma is well known across Southeast Asia and the lithographic bank notes included in this exhibition demonstrate the worldliness of an artist who has an avid interest in music, performance and the social relevance of art production.

PV