Introduction of a Book on Vietnamese Contemporary Arts

Sat 28 Jul 2012, 9 – 10.30 am
Trung Nguyen Book Coffee
52 Hai Ba Trung Str, Hanoi

You are invited to the introduction of a book Vietnamese Contemporary Arts with the presence of two authors, two art researchers Bui Nhu Huong and Pham Trung. The audience will have a chance to know more about the evolution and characteristics of the Vietnamese contemporary arts over the years, the distinct art genres, the role of contemporary arts in Vietnam and the stance of Vietnamese contemporary arts in the global art scene. The meeting is also an opportunity for artists to introduce their art works.

The English version of the book Vietnamese Contemporary Arts 1990-2010 (sponsored by the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) for translation)) is a great efforts of a group of author with a simple idea: first of all gather information, and then make up for the lack of understanding regarding this research area. With a comprehensive introduction of the Vietnamese contemporary arts, its evolution together with illustration pictures, the readers will have more information regarding unique art practices in over the past 20 years.

Conference with Writer Valérie Tong-Cuong

Sat 28 Jul 2012, 9 am
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội

You are invited to a conference with the author of the book “God’s Will”, which has been published in Vietnamese on December 2011 with the participation of translator Nguyen The Cong. Valérie Tong-Cuong is both a writer and singer of the band Quark. Her works have been translated into 9 languages. The book “God’s Will” has been made into a film.

Language: French – Vietnamese simultaneous translation

Free entrance.


2nd Screening from 40 Years of German Video Art

Thu 26 Jul 2012, 3 pm
DOCLAB
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội

Video Art Video cordially invites you to the second screening of video series form 40 years of German Video Art. For more information, see below:

List of video works:

1. Wipe Board by Volker Shreiner

2. Sweetheart by Granular Synthesis

3. As if memories could deceive me by Marcel Odenbach

4. City of Angels by Marina Abramovic and Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen)

5. NY Diaries by Danica Dakić

The screening is non-profit and aims for studies and research only.

Free Entrance!

If you’re interested in getting news, announcements from DOCLAB for its activities, workshops, and schedule of film screenings, etc., please email us at hanoidoclab@gmail.com to subscribe to DOCLAB news.

New Deadline of San Art Laboratory – Session 2

Deadline extended: 08 Aug 2012
Sàn Art
3 Mê Linh
District Bình Thạnh, HCMC

Begun in May 2012, ‘San Art Laboratory’ is Vietnam’s first studio/residency program, initiated and managed by San Art, in Ho Chi Minh City. It aims to provide 3 Vietnamese artists (under 35) with studio and living space for 6 months each. An additional studio and apartment is dedicated to international residents.

During each ‘lab session’ (residency period), participating Vietnamese artists must be willing to participate in regular writing and discussion regarding their work and ideas with a specific ‘talking partner’.

Successful Vietnamese applicants will be granted USD1000 production money, a studio to make their art, separate living quarters and a small living allowance.

Each lab session will end with a group exhibition at San Art showcasing realized work.

The ‘San Art Laboratory’ Advisory Board will assess all applications for successful applicants.

(International applications will be considered with particular terms and conditions)

Please see here for more information and how to apply.

Pro Hanoi Street Festival

Sat 21 Jul 2012, 9 am – 9 pm
Dong Da Park
No. 4, Dang Tien Dong Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi

The cultural events for young people Pro Hanoi – Street Festival will be organized at Dong Da Park on 21st July 2012 with a wide range of activities especially one rock live concert will be held with the participation of 4 rock bands. For more information, see below:

This is an open event for the public. This is a place for the young people in Hanoi to showcase their talents from skate-boarding, break dancing, graffiti to basketball… Especially, a rock live show will be held with the participation of 4 young Vietnamese rock bands (ITeu, Go Lim, Re-Cycle and 18+).

Programme

* Morning and afternoon:

- Skateboard Competition

- Basketball Competition

- Other games: Ball bouncing or “Limbo dancing” to receive voucher from Converse.

You will be able to see some Graffity, or enjoy the music and visit different kiosks around the area.

* Evening:

Rock show: ITeu, Go Lim, Re-Cycle, 18+

Free entrance.

Pictures from Rockpassion.

Briefly translated by Hanoi Grapevine.

SEADocs 2012 – H2O: Sink or Swim

Deadline in Vietnam: 03 Aug 2012
Goethe-Institut Hanoi
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội

SEADocs – The Southeast Asian Student Documentary Award is a competition to encourage the art of documentary filmmaking in the region as a platform to engage with pressing social and environmental issues.

The 2012 competition invites students aged 18 – 28 in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to submit a portfolio of their work and a motivational essay (pitch) on making a film under the theme “H2O: Sink or Swim” by Aug 03, 2012.

Theme Outline:

Water is the most abundant compound on Earth. And yet water, as one of our most important natural resources, presents one of the most pressing ecological and social challenges of the 21st Century with growing constraints on the availability, quality, and use of freshwater resources.

The United Nations states that each year more than 1 billion of our fellow human beings have little choice but to resort to using potentially harmful sources of water and up to 1.8 billion people may be living with absolute water scarcity by 2025 with two thirds of the world population potentially subject to water stress. With recent events such as the terrible drought in the Horn of Africa or the devastating floods here in Southeast Asia, it has become acutely clear what severe impact water has amidst our changing global climate patterns. This essential dependency is why the United Nations designated 2005 – 2015 as the International Decade of Water and why it is the focus subject of SEADocs 2012.

Increasingly in recent years, countries in Southeast Asia have been required to cope with the challenges of water amidst sharply changing relationships between societies and the environment, whether through excessive flooding or fresh water scarcity. The factors causing these conflicts are sometimes natural, sometimes human-made, but in all cases they need to be met with creative and sustainable responses by individuals and communities. The time to confront these issues is not in the future, but today – it is indeed time to act, to ‘sink or swim’ as the expression states.

We are asking students in Southeast Asia to view the diverse and complex relationships with water in this region through their unique filmmaker’s eyes. The competition invites aspiring documentary directors to look beyond the obvious and to seek captivating stories under the motto of “H2O: Sink or Swim”.

Submission Guidelines:

1) Eligible applicants are enrolled students aged 18 – 28 before the application deadline. Only one representative student per film. Professionals in television and film are not entitled to enter the competition.

2) The online application form must be filled out atwww.goethe.de/sciencefilmfestival with acknowledgment that the submission guidelines have been read and understood. Submission deadline is Aug 03, 2012.

3) Eligible entries must include a portfolio of past work on DVD/Data DVD or as data download, as well as a motivational essay (pitch) of max. 300 words in English.

4) Entry materials must arrive by Aug 06, 2012 or earlier.

5) Please either send a download link for videos in your online registration form or alternatively mail examples to:

Vietnam:
Goethe-Institut Hanoi
SEADocs Competition
56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

Schedule:
Aug 03, 2012   Deadline for Submissions
August 10, 2012  Announcement of Shortlisted Candidates
November 09, 2012  Submission of Competition Films by Shortlisted Candidates
December 10, 2012  Announcement of Regional Winner

For full information visit the competition’s website.

Screening of “Copenhagen Dreams”

Fri 20 Jul 2012, 7.30 pm
Screening room, Goethe Institut
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội

The Onion Cellar and Hanoi DocLab present an official screening of Copenhagen Dreams, plus 3 short films by Martin De Thurah.

“A documentary in poetic mode” – Copenhagen Dreams is the portrait that director Max Kestner painted of the Danish capital. The film is exactly what it says on the tin, and then much more. We meet a group of Copenhagen citizens. They are, amongst others, architects, estate agents, social workers, tire-shop employees, antique dealers, poets, musicians, separated couples, children of separated couples, sons, daughters, and above all – dreamers. We hear about their experiences, sometimes mundane, sometimes surreal: he likes to bike across a snow-covered Kongens Have, she likes to watch the tracks disappearing behind her on the train, he loves taking the ferries when it rains, she loves hearing the rain patter on the Palm House roof.

And what do they dream of? A new larger flat with high ceiling, an Eiffel tower by the lakes, more parks and squares and benches painted Copenhagen-green, buildings that grow out into the ocean…, dreams big and small, realistic and otherwise.

Like Patrick Keiller’s ‘London’, the film is also a ‘city symphony’ about the place that inspires and lives its inhabitants’ dreams. “The people are usually out of focus or on the periphery of the framework that constitutes a central part of the film’s aesthetics. [..]Copenhagen is the main character of the film; the people are just passing bit players whose job it is to draw out the distinctive features of the protagonist. “

Accompanying the film is an original score courtesy of veteran Iceland-born, Copenhagen-based post-classical composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. With Jóhannsson’s subtle blending of the classical and the electronic, the melancholic and the hopeful, the music could easily stand alone in its own right, but works best when placed alongside Kestner’s lyrical cinematography, sometimes even taking on the narration role.

Over the course of 70 minutes, we learn about the essence ofCopenhagen. If you have ever sat in the café listening to fragments of conversations around, or felt the nostalgia of the last days in a rented room before moving out, then this is the film for you. It is life itself.

Opening the proceedings are 3 short films about Copenhagendirected by Martin De Thurah (the director who makes music videos for Mew, James Blake, Fever Ray etc). With lush cinematography plus an eclectic selection of soundtrack (Jónsi (Sigur Rós), Mew’s Jonas Bjerre to Chopin and Bach), these shorts add yet another dimension to the portrait of Copenhagen.

Language: the film is in Danish and English (with subtitles in Vietnamese and English).

FREE ENTRY

Music Night “Live Lounge”

Sat 21 Jul 2012, 9 pm
Hanoi Rock City
27/52 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Hanoi

A new event that will select and showcase the best and the freshest of up and coming live talents in the city, alongside some of Hanoi’s hidden gems.

This month we’ll be hosting synergy’s latest addition, the eye-catching folk-pop twins Good Graeff who have been recently reunited for musical adventures in Vietnam after six years apart. They’ll be performing alongside probably the greatest tribute band ever to set foot on the HRC stage, AC/EC, and the oh-so-fun More Drunk… Plzzz.

Performers:

GOOD GRAEFF (USA)
AC/EC (VN)
MORE DRUNK… PLZZZ (VN)

Ticket
Ticket price: 50 000 VND at door

“Caramel” Movie Night

Fri 20 Jul 2012, 8 pm
Snap Cafe
32 Tran Ngoc Dien, District 2, HCMC

If you haven’t watched a Lebanese film before or you are interested in it, come along to “Caramel” Movie Day with Helping Hand Saigon at Snap café. For more information, see below:

This film won several awards at the San Sebastian Film Festival and was officially selected for the Cannes Film Festival. “Caramel” has an optimism born not of dreamy romanticism but of resilience and a degree of hard-headedness. Life for these women is not easy or especially fair, and each of them faces moments of humiliation, loneliness and potential heartbreak. But in the best melodramatic tradition, their toughness, good humor and loyalty see them through. Those qualities, and Ms. Labaki’s evident affection for the battered panache of her native city, make “Caramel” hard to resist.

Language: Film with English subtitles

Donation amount: 50.000VND/person

Proceeds will go to Helping Hand Saigon.

Travelling Notes Show

Sun 15 Jul 2012, 7.30 pm
The Youth Theater, Thien Quang Lake
37 Tran Binh Trong, Hanoi

“Travelling Notes” is a contemporary music show performed by students of Violin Club. Together with their repertoires, other famous singers such as Trung Quan Idol, Mai Trang and S.I.N.E Crew will also participate in the show.

Travelling Notes would like to call for donations for Center for Social Protection II in Tay Mo, Tu Liem, Hanoi where the elder and homeless children are being taken cared of. .

Tickets
Ticket price: 300 000 (VIP), 200 000, 150 000 and 100 000 VND

Or contact hotline 1: 0972256891 and hotline 2: 0943903797

Exhibition “The Echo”

Opening: Sat 21 Jul 2012, 6.30 pm
Exhibition: 21 Jul – 11 Aug 2012
Cactus Contemporary Art
17/12 Nguyen Huy Tuong Street, Ward 6, Binh Thanh District, HCMC

You are invited to attend the artist Vo Xuan Huy’s  solo exhibition entitled “The echo”. Surface structure is cracked, wince, erosive.Silver’s color, cold’s color and moss’s color. Faded status make difficultly to capture. Gloss and fuzzy effect is intercalated or particular segmentation. These are basic visual signals of lacquer works in  “The echo” solo exhibition.

One by one, the themes gradually appear when he connects ancient symbols , ancient patterns, guns, industrial waste, etc. .to become marks that is highlight or invisible on those surface structures. To create the imagination about the echo from traces. Traces of cultural heritage, war, environment. So these three factors impact modern people by different way and level.  And they show all aspects and diversity of contemporary life by themselves . They make people feel frostbitten or obsessed  by  myriad reasons.

Said by artist : “The echo ” is my attempt to refresh the lacquer concept  which is strong mark in a lot of people on their mind. Because new era requests  lacquer a new visual to response itself ”.

Exhibition “Chase Hanoi”

Opening: Wed 18 Jul, 9 am
Exhibition: 18 – 20 Jul 2012
Viet Art Centre
42 Yết Kiêu, Hà Nội

Organized entirely by students, the 2012 Chase Hanoi is our special Photo Exhibition presenting the way 48 aspiring young artists interpret the term “Live”. By capturing of our daily life moments, we hope to express our ultimate passion and joy, not just for photography, but also for life and the values it holds.

Through candid portraits of our immediate surroundings, we wish to embrace the idea voiced by Adrian Martinez: “Sometimes truth is not beautiful, and beauty is not truthful”. The exhibition features artworks from different perspectives, with each corner showing a distinct angle of the streets, the people and the culture of Hanoi, Vietnam or elsewhere our students are located. Besides, the exhibition also displays and sells artworks made ​by the members of Chase Hanoi. Funds obtained from the products and other forms will be forwarded to the charity of our project.

Free entrance!

Exhibition “Encyclopedia Rebel”

26/07 – 31/08/2012
Institut Français de Hanoi – L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội

You are invited to the exhibition organized on the publication of the book “Encyclopedia Rebel” in Vietnamese.  Let’s go back to this rebellious time! Enjoy the exhibition and share your question that you have wondered when you were young and explore these great moments together.

They do not accept the world as it is… They have created a revolution or intended to do so!

They might be slaves, soldiers or normal people but they say “No” to tyrants and oppressors. They might be idealists or writers, they fought inequalities and injustices. Whether scientists or artists, they have questioned the principles, pushing away the limits. Let’s relive to our rebellious childhood!

Free entrance.

Collaborative Residency Program

The 1st International Collaborative Residency for Artists in HCMC (Vietnam, 2012) is now accepting applications
Deadline: 28 Jul 2012

Pandora Studio offers to new media artists from South-East and Far-East Asia, an amazing and challenging experience in a collaborative and cross disciplinary program. The residency will take place at the Le Thanh Theater in Ho Chi Minh City from August 25 to September 15, 2012. The residency is related to production of a new performance which will be shown at Ben Thanh Theater ( in the central district of Ho Chi Minh City ) on the second half of September 2012.

Application requirements

Please send your CV enclosing a list of your works and projects to carps2dragon@gmail.com (subject: Application for collaborative residency in Saigon). We accept applications until July 28, 2012. Selected artist will be contacted by email. The selection will be confirmed after a quick video conference. Artists from all South East and Far East Asia at all professional levels are encouraged to apply.

Please Note: Vietnamese Government requires a self presentation and some documentation which indicate your activity as artist or professional before granting permission to participate to the residency.

Screening of “Mauvaise Foi”

Fri 27 Jul 2012, 8 pm
L’Espace

You are invited to the screening “Bad Intention” of director Roschdy Zem. “This is a delicate film which avoids all prejudice on married couples of different religion” – Parisien Magazine.

For more information about the film synopsis and ticket information, see below:

Film synopsis: Clara is a Jewish, Ismaël is an Arabian. They are a perfect couple. The day Clara knows she is pregnant is the best day of their life little did they know everything changes after that.

Ticket price: 20 000 VND

Special price for members of L’Espace and students: 10 000 VND

Tickets are available at L’Espace.

Concert with Trio Tutti

Sat 21 Jul 2012, 8 pm
L’Espace

You are invited to the concert with the trio Tutti (including violinist Dinh Thi Doan Hoa, celloist Tran Thu Van and pianist Dao Trong Tuyen). They will perform works of Beethoven, Chopin, Handel and Rachmaninoff.

Program
Ludwig van Beethoven  Sonate No.9 A major for violin and piano
Frédéric Chopin Ballade No.1 G minor, Op. 23 – piano
Frideric Handel- Johan Halvorsen Passacaglia for violon and cello
Sergei Rachmaninoff Trio élégiaque No.1 1 G minor for piano, violin and cello

Ticket:
Ticket price: 120 000 VND
Special price for members of L’Espace and students: 60 000 VND
Tickets are available at L’Espace from 21 June 2012.

Cabaret Night in July

Sat 28 Jul 2012, 8.30 – 9.30 pm
Institut Français de Hanoi – L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội

Cabaret Night at L’Espace is the stage for new music talents. Come here to enjoy great drinks and listen to fabulous French, English and Vietnamese songs.

If you are a song-writer, singer or you can sing in French, Vietnamese or English, contact Cédric Drouard to participate in the Cabaret Music Night at L’Espace: cedminimum@hotmail.fr.

Free admission.