Beauties gear up for Miss Ocean Vietnam

The first Miss Ocean Vietnam 2014 contest kicked off Monday at the White Palace Convention Center in Phu Nhuan District, HCMC.

  The contest seeks Vietnamese contestants aged between 18 and 26 with an average height of 1.65m who are based in Vietnam or overseas.

  According to fashion designer Vo Viet Chung, who is also head of the organizing committee, the contest will be made an annual event with the goal of raising people’s awareness on environment protection of the nation’s seas and to promote the local tourism industry.

  Qualification rounds will take place in Hanoi on April 20 and in HCMC on April 25. The semi-final round will be held in HCMC on May 1 to find 35 finalists for the coronation night at Muine Resort in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan on May 12.

  The winner will take home a prize of VND400 million and a coral-shaped crown worth VND1.6 billion. She will join activities of the Blue Ocean World project initiated by Chung. There are extra titles for Miss Ao Dai (Vietnam’s long dress), Miss Talent, Miss Bikini, Miss Photogenic and Miss Fashion, among others at the contest.

 8th HTV Awards 2014 opens for vote

Starting March 10, audiences can vote for their favorite artists at the 8th HTV awards 2014.

Art mediums featured at the awards will be for cinema, music and stage.

The awards honor popular artists who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Vietnamese music, theater and film.

Artists will compete for “Best Pop Male/Female Singer”, “Best dramatic actor/actress”, “Best cai luong actor/actress”, “Best comedian”, “Best actor/actress” and “Best Supporting actor/actress”.

The event organizers, Ho Chi Minh City Television and Dong Tay Promotion Company, will cooperate with the Press Board to announce candidates for election in various categories.

The ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. on April 5 and broadcasted live on HTV9 channel.

Vietnamese painters solo exhibition debuts in Paris

Vietnamese painter Mai Dac Linh is presenting his latest works to French art lovers in his debut solo exhibition at Victorias Gallery in Paris.

Entitled Croyance et Duree, meaning Faith and Time, the ongoing exhibition displays Linh's 26 lacquer and do (poonah) paintings. While his lacquer works were created in Viet Nam over the past 10 years, the poonah paintings were created after he shifted to Paris recently.

With the help of lacquer and poonah – two famous traditional materials used in Vietnamese fine arts – the artist has used Western painting styles to honour Vietnamese values of humanity and Buddhism. His paintings reflect symbolic Vietnamese images such as the lotus and the patterns drawn on ancient bronze drums.

French art critic and author of the book Vietnamese Contemporary Painting Corinne de Menonville saidshe was impressed by the way Linh controls colours. "His endless creativity results in unique artworks, reflecting both Western and Vietnamese features," she added.

The Faith and Time exhibition runs till February 28.

Ha Giang’s Tran Dynasty antiques recognized as national treasures

Sung Khanh pagoda’s headstone in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang has been recognized as a national treasure. Together with Binh Lam pagoda’s bell, the locality has two Tran Dynasty antiques out of a total of 37 national treasures.

  Sung Khanh pagoda was built in 1356 under the Tran Dynasty in Dao Duc Commune, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang. It is now located at the national historical relic site.

  It was set up after Sung Khanh pagoda was built 11 years previously. The headstone is placed on a stone turtle and inscribed with unique patterns.

  Binh Lam pagoda’s bell was made in 1295. It is now placed in Binh Lam pagoda, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang.

  Along with Sung Khanh headstone and Binh Lam bell, Van Ban pagoda’s bell is also recognized as a national treasure. It is now stored at Hanoi’s Vietnam National Museum of History.

  Besides, there are other fascinating antiques such as a cannon (Nguyen Dynasty – Ha Tinh Province), Visnu Buddha statue (Culture of Oc Eo, Long An Province) and a rare painting of two ladies and children by late artist To Ngoc Van.

Two VNTM winners parade at London Fashion Week

Winners of the first and second seasons of Vietnam’s Next Top Model (VNTM) in 2010 and 2011 Khieu Thi Huyen Trang (Trang Khieu) and Hoang Thi Thuy (or Hoang Thuy) paraded at the recent London Fashion Week 2014.

  Trang, 24, from the northern province of Bac Giang who stands 1.78m tall sported the latest designs by Carrie-Ann Stein, Hiroko Nakajima, George Styler and Liz Black last weekend. On the occasion, Trang signed a contract with London-based model agency Oxygen after a spell as a freelancer. She also had several lookbook photo shoots and fittings with several brands in London.

  Trang unveiled on her Facebook page that it was tough to compete with hundreds of young models aged between 16 and18 to be chosen for the show. Trang also took part in New York Fashion Week in 2012 and London Fashion Week in 2013.

Thuy, 22, from the central province of Thanh Hoa and a graduate of Hanoi’s University of Architecture appeared on Jean-Pierre Braganza shows and was the first face for Haizhen Wang’s show. She wrote on Facebook that “My wish when coming to London was to be able to join any show by any designer. It is unbelievable that Jean-Pierre Braganza chose me for his show at Somerset House.”

  She also unveiled her current height of 1.79m which is 3cm taller than when she appeared in VNTM in 2011.  This year’s

London Fashion Week finishes up on Tuesday with the participation of over 70 brands.

Giang Trang performs Trinh Cong Son songs at Idecaf

The French Cultural Center in HCMC and Idecaf will host a concert with Giang Trang entertaining fans with songs by late musician Trinh Cong Son at 8 p.m. on February 28.

  The event held at Idecaf downtown is themed Chieu qua van qua and is being held to mark the death anniversary of the composer.

  Trang infuses a fresh spirit into Son’s songs. Previously, audiences were entertained by veteran singers such as Khanh Ly and Hong Nhung performing Son’s back catalogue. Audiences might find Trang’s style reminds them of Ly who is now living  in the U.S.

  The concert has the participation of Tran Duc Minh as mixing artist/guitarist and Ngo Hong Quang who plays Kalimba and other musical instruments.

  Son who passed away in 2001 was known as the Bob Dylan of Vietnam penning over 600 works during his career.

  Tickets which are priced at VND100,000 can be purchased at Idecaf, 31 Thai Van Lung Street in District 1. Students will enjoy a 50% discount. For further information, call 08 3823 9968.

  Trang will also perform in Hanoi on February 27 at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

Hon Viet premieres at Idecaf

Hon Viet (The Soul of Vietnam) – a program giving a critical portrait on historic tales and the country’s art performances – will be held at Idecaf in District 1 at 5:30 p.m. today, February 25 and March 4.

The program has two dramatic productions and five different musical genres performed by a number of professional artists.

The tale ‘Hai Ba Trung’ recounts the repelling of northern invaders and ‘Muc Dong Chan Trau’ (buffalo boy) will be re-enacted at the thrilling and lively IDECAF Theater. The former is intense and dramatic, while the latter may give the audience a feeling of peace and tranquility.

In order to promote the program to Vietnam’s traditional music lovers, Hon Viet features traditional dancing and musical instruments of Vietnamese minority groups, folk songs from the three regions in Vietnam as well as street performances.

The program will be joined by artist Linh Huyen as well as others from Mekong Artists Joint-Stock Company.

Tickets are now available at 8A/9C1 Thai Van Lung, District 1 priced at VND500,000 for adults, VND250,000 for children and free of charge for kids aged under six.

Precious paintings and antiques on display in town

Around 30 precious paintings by renowned artists Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Bui Xuan Phat, Luu Cong Nhan, Ta Ty, Nguyen Gia Tri and Nguyen Tien Chung are on display at Net xua (Old beauty) exhibition at the City Star Wine Cellar in District 1.

  City Star has become a new venue for Saigon’s antique lovers. The idea of combining antiques and Vietnam’s precious paintings for display was strongly supported by painting collectors Le Van Thuan, Le Quoc Lap, Luu Quoc Binh and Truong Van Thuan. Their pictures have created a brand new and fascinating ambiance for city exhibitions.

  Net xua finishes up in May. City Star is likely to organize another picture exhibition on daily Vietnamese stories in the future. The exhibition takes place at 13 Bui Thi Xuan Street, District 1.

Contemporary Vietnamese exhibition in France

San Art, a non-profit gallery and reading room in HCMC, is organizing an art exhibition at Carré d’Art museum of contemporary arts in Nimes, France from Friday until April 27.

  Themed “Remainder – Suspended Dancing”, the event gathers a lot of contemporary artists from Vietnam and overseas Vietnamese such as Dinh Q Le, Tiffany Chung, Lena Bui, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Nguyen Huy An, Nguyen Thai Tuan, Nguyen Trinh Thi and The Propellar.

  The curators of this year’s event are Jean Marc Prevost (Director of Carre d’Art) and Zoe Butt (Executive Director of San Art – HCMC).

  According to San Art, the exhibition “Remainder – Suspending Dancing” presents different perspectives of eight contemporary artists on complicated colonialism with assessments on collective behavior, class system and ideology collapse. The exhibition challenges Vietnam’s relations and globalization, presenting an important artist community of named historical consciousness such as war crimes, tourist destinations and colonial nostalgia.

  The exhibition is sponsored by French Culture Center and Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to celebrate last year’s 40th anniversary of Vietnam-France relations.

Sculptor shortlisted in Luxembourg

A black granite sphere sculpture by Vietnamese artist Mai Thu Van has been selected to be one of three finalists at a sculpture contest organised and hosted by the city of Luxembourg.

As part of the city's 1,050th anniversary, the competition aims to choose a sculpture representing Melusina, the wife of Luxembourg's founder, Count Siegfried. The winning sculpture will be installed on the banks of the River Alzette in Luxembourg-Grund.

Van's sculpture resembles a pearl, to symbolise Melusina's famed beauty and charming attributes which captivated the city's founder. The sculpture also symbolises a reflection of moonlight on the waters of the Alzette, where the woman reportedly spend nights in solitude.

Van's sculpture, along with the other two finalists, is on public display at the Luxembourg City History Museum until February 23.

Members of the public can nominate sculptures at the museum and online at votemelusina.lu. The vote tally will be combined with decision of a panel to choose a winner, to be announced on February 25.

Photo exhibition on Vietnam held in Mexico

The Workers' University of Mexico (UOM) opened a photo exhibition on February 17, featuring Vietnam’s post war struggle for national unification and construction.

Among distinguished guests at the opening ceremony were Vietnamese ambassador to Mexico Le Thanh Tung, Cuban ambassador to Mexico Dagoberto Rodriguez, UOM Publication Director Jose Guillermo Favela and UOM General Secretary Emiliano Silva Prudkovsky.

The ceremony kicked off with the screening of a documentary entitled “Vietnam la nhu the”.

“The event provides an excellent opportunity for the younger Mexican generation to gain an in-depth understanding of the basic and the most important period in the contemporary history of the world,” they said.

They affirmed that the documentary portrays Vietnam during this most difficult period of its history as a determined and self-confident nation with an unyielding spirit struggling for national independence and freedom.

Ambassador Le Thanh Tung thanked the film’s delegation and UOM for bringing the real images of Vietnam’s land and people to the public.

He said the event helps deepen the world’s understanding of Vietnam’s history, its heroism and tradition of fighting foreign aggressors.

“Better than anyone, Vietnam deeply understands the real value of peace and always wants to consolidate and contribute to a peaceful environment in the region and the world”, Tung said.

He thanked the Mexican and Latin American government and people for their assistance during Vietnam’s past struggle for national unification and current construction process.

“Vietnam la nhu the” has won many important international awards, including Vietnam’s Gold Lotus in 1980, Palm award at Cuba’s Havana Film Festival in 1981, Silver Goddess in 1981 and several other Mexican awards.