Hanoi Rock City presents Matt Vend & the Tender 10
 
Matt Vend and the Tender 10, the much anticipated solo project of South African singer/songwriter Matt "Beard" Wilson – lead vocalist of Car Boot Vendors- is a band that self describes as acoustic music the way it shouldn't be played.

Matt Vend and The Tender 10 have roots in punk and folk, and the band is currently touring Southeast Asia, on the brink of an imminent debut solo album release. Beard's long running band, Sibling Rivalry gained a loyal and cult-like following across South Africa, with the Car Boot Vendors the first of its kind to emerge from the city of Durban.

Versatile, enjoyable and addicted to the stage with his hundreds of live performances, Matt Vend (vocals, harmonica, melodica) and his Tender 10 will bring a buoyant acoustic sound to Hanoi Rock City tomorrow, from 9pm until late, at 27/52 To Ngoc Van Street, Tay Ho District.

Entrance fee: VND50,000.

Mesmerising sound of 16-string zither at House of Son Tinh

The dan tranh (16-string zither) artist Nguyen Thanh Thuy will team up with the electro maestro Vu Nhat Tan for a performance on Saturday, from 9-11pm at The House of Son Tinh, 31 Xuan Dieu Street, Tay Ho District.

Door ticket costs VND50,000 per person. Each ticket is valid for one free glass of Son Tinh Premium Liquor.

Salsa the night away with Cuban band
 
Prepare your dancing shoes to salsa the night away on the 19th floor of The Rooftop, Pacific Place, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, with the incredible performance of Warapo from Cuba on Sunday, from 9-10.30pm.
The six-member band will perform for the first time in Ha Noi from January 8-12. Warapo will have you on your feet in no time with their intoxicating rhythm and renditions of salsa, rumba and other Cuban favourites.

For reservations, call Ms Huong: 0914363486.

Lecture on Ha Noi and the Old Quarter

Douglas Jardine, a professor at Ha Noi University, will begin a monthly lecture series with an illustrated talk about the origins and early development of Ha Noi. He will discuss the development of the Old Quarter and some of its well-preserved streets. The aim of this lecture is to enrich the experience of living in the city by learning about its extraordinary development. This lecture goes beyond general knowledge and is the result of several years of research and teaching.

It will take place at the back room of Cinematheque, 22A Hai Ba Trung Street, on Wednesday, January 12, from 7-8.30pm. Attendance fee: VND80,000.

Vietnamese Canadian calligrapher's works on show

An exhibition by Vietnamese-Canadian calligrapher Truong Chanh Trung will open at the Hotel Equatorial in HCM City's District 5 tomorrow.

On display will be water colours painted on rice paper and delicate silk sheets.

Trung is a master of calligraphy, an accomplished painter, and a sculptor. He has won several art awards, including the Symposium Tribute to Georgette Pihay Quebec and the Public Fall of the World (Quebec). His sculptures were displayed in parks and other public spaces in Quebec.

Charity event to raise fund
 
A charity and music show to raise funds for poor children and disadvantaged people to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) will be held at the Lan Anh Club in HCM City on January 8.
At the show, the organisers, the HCM City Red Cross and Sai Gon Paper Corporation, will auction a record-sized pink mica flapping crane with 18,000 people's fingerprints.

Famous singers like Cam Van – Khac Trieu, Quang Dung, Lam Truong, and Ho Ngoc Ha will perform.

New year concert at Opera House
 
The HCM City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO) will present a concert to celebrate New Year at the City's Opera House on January 9.

Its artists will play compositions by Beethoven, Franck, and Prokofiev, and comedic opera H.M.S. Pinafore (The Lass That Loved a Sailor) by Athur Sullivan and Gilbert.

South Korean pianist Joo Eun-young and cellist Joo Hye-young, Vietnamese violist Nguyen Thanh Nam, and dancers from the HBSO will perform at the show.

Massive book to be presented to Truc Lam Zen monastery

A 300-page book, measuring 125cmx80cmx16cm with wooden covers and weighing 120kg, by Prof Dr Hoang Quang Thuan, calligrapher Tran Quoc An and photographer Pham Tu, will soon be completed.  

An said the book, entitled “Thi Van Yen Tu,” includes 143 poems by Thuan, which were published by the Vietnam Education Publishing House in 1998.

Those poems were printed on the left pages of the book and they were rewritten in calligraphy on the right pages. Both pages are decorated with yellowish patterns from pictures taken by Tu at Dong Pagoda on the Yen Tu peak.

It will then be presented to the Truc Lam Zen Monastery in the northern province of Quang Ninh on January 12.

Earlier, the three authors set a Vietnamese record with their 54kg calligraphic book “Hoa Lu Thi Tap,” which was a gift to the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee to mark the 1000th anniversary of the capital city.

Overview of Japanese literary canon published in Vietnamese

A comprehensive overview of Japanese literature entitled Tong Quan Lich Su Van Hoc Nhat Ban (Overview of Japanese Literature's History) by Professor Nguyen Nam Tran was recently published by the Vietnam Education Publishing House.

The 700-page book is the only complete work about Japanese literature published in Vietnam.

Tran, who currently works at the Josai University in Tokyo, compiled the book from various Japanese, English and French sources.

Famous for many research projects on Oriental culture, Tran has also translated several works of Japanese literature, including a short story by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, a Japanese writer in the Taisho-period who is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story".

Local acrobats soar in circus competition

Vietnamese circus artists returned from the second Indochina Circus Talent Competition with eight prizes, including the top prize for an acrobatic performance named Ngay Hoi Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands Festival).

The Vietnamese troupe presented six performances in the competition, which was organized at the Lao National Circus in Vientiane with the participation of hundreds of artists from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The competition, which ended last week, was held for the first time in Hanoi last year.

Artists competed in various performances including fire hoop spinning, juggling, women's double trapeze male and female lifting and somersaulting on a suspended net.

The event aimed to develop the talent of young circus performers, provide them with opportunities to learn and share experiences with each other and improve their skills to international levels, said Hoang Minh Khanh, principal of the Vietnam Circus and Variety Arts College.

The performance of Vietnamese artists who combined belly dancing and a hoop performance received a stirring reaction from the crowd, and won Supporting Prize.

The idea for the performance came from Khanh, who also directed the performance with belly dancer Van Anh.

"The audience even made us perform it twice. The Vietnamese artists expressed their ability, creation and passion that won over both the jury board and the audience," Khanh said.

"After the success of the performance, I will co-operate with dancer Van Anh to develop more circus acts combined with belly dancing to perform for the public," he said.

Students put on installation and video arts in Hanoi

An art exhibition called “Students make art”, E.A.T (Exerciation.Art.Term), will open on Wednesday at Viet Art Center, featuring installation and video artworks made by alumni of Vietnam University of Fine Arts.

The exhibition is the result of the Experimental Installation and Video Art Project by 14 students from fine art and art history department of the university.

This project belongs to the extra-curricular activities proposed and guided by fine art department professor Le Tran Hau Anh and art history and critic department professor Pham Dieu Huong. The project’s purpose is to apply new methods of teaching and exercitation of installation and video art for students.

The project will add knowledge about contemporary art and help students increase creative thinking and the freedom to develop ideas to express themselves as visual artists by new materials.

The project and the production of the artworks were done from August 15 to December 12 last year through processes including selecting the students for the project, and researching installation and video art through materials.

The exhibition runs till January 10 at the center, 42 Yet Kieu Street, Hanoi.
 
19th century artifacts on display in Hai Phong  

A Vietnamese rickshaw, which is well-preserved by the museum, also interested many guests.

Three hundred artifacts depicting Vietnamese daily life in late 19th century are on display at Hai Phong Province’s museum.

Many of the artifacts are presented for the first time. Nguyen Ba Thanh Long, vice chairman of Hai Phong Antiques Association, said that many of exhibited items are borrowed from his association’s members.

“Although the objects are not enough, they can still partly reflect the Vietnamese people’s life in previous century. The young generation can learn more about their ancestors’ interesting life,” Long said.

In the first day of the exhibition, many visitors were impressed by the original century-old items, such as a bowl, copper tray, tea pot and phonograph that are still in good condition.

A bed, originating from the Nguyen Dynasty and made of valuable timber, was a big attraction. The bed was entirely decorated with sophisticated carvings, inlaid with helix and vignettes inspired from the dragon, kylin, tortoise and phoenix.

Night market opens in Hue

The Hue City People's Committee launched a pedestrian-only night market along Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street from Truong Tien Bridge to Phu Xuan Bridge on January 2.

The night market will be open daily from 17:00 to 23:00, featuring 122 booths selling handicrafts and fine arts as well as consumer goods and food.

It was invested with a total capital of more than VND3 million, aiming to create a shopping and sightseeing area for both foreign visitors and and Hue residents.

Hue attracts more than 1.6 million local and foreign tourists every year.

Exhibition to honour Holy Mother

Thousands of artworks featuring cultural life of Vietnamese women will be introduced in a special exhibition entitled “Mother Goddess Worship”.   
 
The works will be on show at the Vietnamese Women's Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi from January 5.

With more than 1,000 items and 21 documents on display, visitors will have the chance to learn about the unique religious culture of women from different places in Vietnam. The exhibition, to be divided by themes, including Women in Family, Women in History and Women’s Fashion, will together depict a lively picture of Vietnamese women in real life.

The exhibition is the result of research, which was started 2009 by the Centre for Research Support and Development of Culture (A&C) and the Vietnamese Women Museum, with an aim to help people better understand the Vietnamese practice of worshiping the mother goddess.

The results include an extensive collection of items and interviews with hundreds of people who still worship in Hanoi and other northern provinces, such as Lao Cai, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Hung Yen and others.

There will be performances of lên đồng (a sort of trance performance) which includes dance, singing and music. Besides, the arrangement and decoration of altars, the offerings and costumes to the mother goddess will also be on display.

The exhibition will focus on four main colours which represent four palaces in which the mothers live: Red for heaven, white for water, yellow for earth and green for the forest and mountains.