Under the project, railway viaduct spans on Phung Hung Street which stretch from its intersection with Le Van Linh Street to that with Hang Cot Street are going to be turned into canvas by artists from Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

The project is part of the programme to introduce art into urban areas

18 paintings to be painted along the street are now being exhibited in Green One UN House in Kim Ma Street, Hanoi. The paintings portray a modern yet traditional Hanoi with a long history dating back to thousands of years.

Nguyen Quang from the UN-HABITAT Programme Manager in Viet Nam said:  "Hanoi’s Old Quarter features rich cultural values through generations, therefore we need to study thoroughly to come up with appropriate mural paintings which can remind people of the glorious past and at the same time, portraying the city’s effort to integrate into the modern world"

Pham Tuan Long  who is vice chairman of Hoan Kiem District People’s Committee told: "Instead of being directly drawn on the walls, the paintings are portable so that we can easily replace when they are degraded"

To gathering public ideas to come up with the best solution which can both beautify the street and preserve its traditional values, a dialogue on Community Art has been held recently in Hanoi to discuss the project.

Artists to the dialogue have openly shared their views on the pictures to be painted.

Meanwhile Assoc. Prof. Duong Tuan Anh from Hanoi National University of Education said: "Some pictures have artistic values yet may confuse the public. Therefore, the evaluation of those paintings needs to be conducted very carefully to select the most appropriate paintings to be displayed along the street."

Phung Hung mural street project is schedule to be completed in mid-November.-VNA