Saigon Artbook, a series of non-profit art books which is in its 5th edition, will introduce creations by three young female artists, including paper collage painting maker Vitaliya Letnitskaya from Russia, and Vietnam’s digital painting maker Tran Ngoc Viet Tu (Turine Tran) and contemporary dancer Do Hai Anh (Yumi) at a ceremony at 3A Station in HCMC’s District 1 on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Local dancer Do Hai Anh, one of the three artists to be featured in Saigon Artbook 5, is seen at a press conference to announce the book launch last week in HCMC’s District 1.

According to Dao Minh Vu, general manager of Ultimate Futuristic Organization (UFO), a non-profit art organization that initiated the project since 2013, each artist joining the book contributes their latest 12 works that have never been unveiled before.

Through the recommendations of curators, veteran artists and art experts, UFO chose to feature these three artists who are working and living in Saigon on the book. This year marks the 5th anniversary of Saigon Artbook with its special edition.

Vitaliya Letnitskaya’s collage addiction is a process of “Cut thinking, glue emotions, collage yourself, it’s my silent storytelling.” Her creations are full of honest narratives, snippets of everyday life and immediate intimacy. Each work is a personal documentation and self-examination sometimes made from only a few silhouettes glued to a plain background, other times, complex with abundant materials and multiple layers. Tran Ngoc Viet Tu, a Vietnam-born artist, takes inspiration from children, companionship, nature, and her short but happy childhood in Saigon. She started her art study in 2001 in HCMC, followed by schools in Singapore, Paris and Edinburgh where she obtained a Master’s degree in illustration at the Edinburgh College of Art. She has had exhibitions in the UK and Singapore, and has worked with numerous magazines and publishers in the UK, the U.S., and Australia in children’s book illustration. Besides, she has also collaborated with animators and filmmakers in production design and art development for films.

Do Hai Anh started dancing at the age of 5 at Baby Mickey dance group. Then, she studied at the HCMC Dance School for seven years. Anh was selected to join Sea Choreolab’s Young Choreographer Project with Rimbun Dahan (Malaysia) art community in May 2014. In September 2014, she became one of the renown Arabesque Dance’s artists to tour six states in the U.S. Hai Anh also opened Unicorn Studio - a dancing and photography studio where she creates her works of art and develop her upcoming charity project of “Art for everyone” to teach dancing for children and adults for free.

Dao Minh Vu from UFO said that the upcoming Saigon Artbooks would feature tattoo, graffiti, 3D painting artists and hat making artisans in Saigon. He also wishes to feature local talent in different themes of artbooks, for example Vietnam Artbook, or a book for local students studying in Singapore called Singapore Artbook, among others. To have funds to publish books, UFO has received donations from benefactors, art lovers, and crowd funding events.

Through the Saigon Artbook project, UFO supports underground and indie artists in Saigon and Vietnam to promote their unique aesthetic and artworks. In the future, UFO wishes to be able to shorten the bridge between art and business, increasing the value of art in daily life. So far UFO has published 2,800 art books and has lured over 3,500 visitors to its exhibitions.

The launching ceremony will take place at 3A Station at 3A Ton Duc Thang Street in HCMC’s Distric1. The entrance fee is at VND50,000 per person and the book is priced at VND200,000 per item.

For more information, call Austin Nguyen on the hotline 0120 790 4050.