A selection of noteworthy artistic and cultural events that will take place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from May 17 through 13.

HANOI

PERFORMANCE

Art Program “Bamboo Talk”

7 pm, May 11 and 13

Phu Sa Lab

21/52 To Ngoc Van street, Quang An Ward, Tay Ho District

Come to enjoy the whole evening of creative performances accompanied by instruments all made of BAMBOO – the inspiration for every high-end show in Vietnam.

Ticket: 700,000VND (dinner and 01 drink included)

Music Event “Revolve 3″

12 pm, May 12 to 12 pm, May 13

Longan Garden in Long Bien District

Staged in a spectacular location in a forest on the side of the Red River, the 24-hour programme will feature 20 performances and installations by artists from all over the world.

Tickets:

Early birds: VND300,000 (limited to 150 participants)

Phase 2: VND400,000 (limited to 250 participants)

At the door: VND500,000

‘Lang Toi’ (My Village) by Lune Production

6 pm, every day, except Wednesday and Sunday

Vietnam Tuong Theatre

51A Duong Thanh Street, Hoan Kiem district

Lang Toi (My Village) is a delicate merge of tradition and innovation, where the poetic beauty of Northern Vietnam’s village life is presented through a new cirque approach.

Farming, the building activities, traditional games, and lifestyle of the Northern villagers are recreated by ancestral bamboo props, breath-taking cirque and acrobatics performances, and rhythmic dance, to distinct folk music from more than 20 musical instruments.

Ticket prices: VND 630,000- VND 1,050,000

EXHIBITION

Exhibition “Shadow & Shape” by Le Thiet Cuong

Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA)

B1-R3 Vincom Royal City, 72 Nguyen Trai street, Thanh Xuan district

You are invited to “Bóng & Hình” (Shadow & Shape) – an exhibition of 22 oil paintings – the latest artworks made by Le Thiet Cuong in 2016 and 2017.

The artworks were inspired by the simple, familiar things in life like streets, houses, trees, rivers.

Exhibition “Happy Zone” by Do Thuy Hang

Dong Phong Art Gallery

03 Ly Dao Thanh Street, Hoan Kiem District

Come to the painting exhibition “Happy Zone” by Do Thuy Hang to explore her journey to in search for of a “happy zone” where she can finally ‘touch’ the essence of the true, the good, and the beautiful.

Exhibition “The Smurfs”

N14 Exhibition Hall, Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long

9 Hoang Dieu street, Ba Dinh district

“The Smurfs”, an exhibition about the fictional blue creatures created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo is taking place at the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long from April 26 to June 4, 2018.

The exhibition commemorates the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Smurfs. Debuted in 1958, the comic series “The Smurfs” by Peyo tells a fictional story about a colony of blue, human-like creatures. Thirty-five million copies of the thirty-four books in the series have been published in 90 countries.

Free entry

HO CHI MINH CITY

PERFORMANCE

Stephane Tran Ngoc plays Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1

8 pm, May 9

Ho Chi Minh City Opera House

7 Lam Son Square, District 1

You are invited to a concert featuring Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Elgar’s Serenade for Strings, through performances of celebrated Vietnamese-French violin soloist Stephane Tran Ngoc.

The concert will take place under the baton of HBSO’s music director Tran Vuong Thach.

Ticket prices: VND80,000- VND200,000 –VND500,000 - VND1,050,000

A O Show by Lune Production

6:00 pm every day, except Wednesday and Sunday

Ho Chi Minh City Opera House

7 Cong Truong Lam Son, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1

The A O Show features optical illusions and impressive acrobatics, paired with traditional music performances by a troupe of talented local artists.

Known as the Cirque du Soleil of Vietnam (minus the flashy outfits), this live show depicts the transition of rural Vietnam into today’s modern landscape, using props such as giant woven baskets, scaffolding, bamboo canes, and ropes.

Price range: VND630,000 - VND1,470,000

EXHIBITION

Exhibition “8♡” by Truc-Anh

Galerie Quynh

118 Nguyen Van Thu Street, District 1

For his third solo exhibition at the gallery, Truc-Anh tells a complex and nuanced story of transformation and awakening.

The title of the show exemplifies these dynamics, as a reference to the video games of Truc-Anh’s childhood, while also alluding to metaphysical dimensions.

In particular, the symmetrical number eight – representing a perfect loop and infinity – appears in many of the works, while references to rebirth, healing and impermanence interspersed with images of the ego, vanity and conceit are also prevalent.

Exhibition “In One’s Breath – Nothing Stands Still” by Tuan Mami

The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre

15 Nguyen U Di, Thao Dien, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City

The exhibition is Hanoi-based artist Tuấn Mami’s first-ever solo show in Ho Chi Minh City.

The project is inspired by the ancient Muong epic ‘De Dat De Nuoc’ (‘The Birth of Soil and Water’), from which emerges a belief that there is spirituality in all beings, that the creation of the world is constantly in a state of chaos where humans struggle to cohabit harmoniously with other creatures, and especially with themselves.

Tickets: VND35,000 - VND25,000 (with appropriate student ID) - free for children under 16 (with appropriate ID).

Nhan Dan/Hanoigrapevines