Tourists get to know more about Vietnamese people’s life

More than 100 professional artists will work together to portray the Vietnamese people’s life through different stages of evolvement at an installation art show to be held in Hanoi in March.

Themed “Huong Dat” (aroma of soil), the show will be staged at the Youth Theatre, mainly for foreign tourists and overseas Vietnamese to get to know more about Vietnam’s culture and its wet-rice civilization.

Thatched cottages, buffalos and ploughs, farming tools, earthenware, stone works, and rattan articles, will become part of the installation show.

Directed by the people’s artist Le Hung, the event will include performances of dances and songs, pieces of puppet plays, traditional and contemporary music.

“Huong Dat” is one of the artistic activities designed to promote the country’s images and its arts to the outside world.

Truong Luy becomes national heritage

Truong Luy architectural relic Thursday was recognized by the Quang Ngai central province’s Department of Culture, Information, and Tourism as the national heritage.

Recently, Quang Ngai People’s Committee has invested VND15 billion in restoring and preserving Truong Ly relic. They have also proposed Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite ambassadors from European’s countries to visit this historical and cultural relic.

Truong Luy relic was discovered by the researchers of Bac Co Far East University and the Archaeological Institute and was officially excavated from 2005.

The relic is 200 kilometers long, 5 meters high, and 3 meters, featuring hundreds of military posts made of stones.

The architectural work stretches in eight districts of the Quang Ngai province namely Tra Bong, Son Tinh, Son Ha, Tu Nghia, Minh Long, Ba To, Duc Pho, and two Binh Dinh central province’s districts An Lao and Hoai Nhon.

Truong Luy relic was set up in early 15th century and was basically completed in the early 19th century.

20 countries to join Mui Ne Int’l Boat Racing Festival 2011

Twenty countries have registered to take part in the 2011 International Boat Racing Festival, which is scheduled to take place in Mui Ne in the southern province of Binh Thuan from March 17-20.

Various cultural, sporting and tourism events will be held in the framework of the festival themed “Boat, Sea, Sand and Sun”, including a concert performed by Austrian, Australian, Russian and Hong Kong artists, an exhibition on boat technology, a photo exhibition, and an international seminar on boat technology and sea tourism industry.

This is a good opportunity for Binh Thuan to introduce its tourism potential to foreign tourists. The province aims to welcome about 2.8 million foreign visitors and earn VND3,250 billion in revenue this year.

Vietnam, Laos students showcase photo exhibition

A photo exhibition of students from Vietnam and Laos’ fine art universities opened on March 10 in the Lao capital city of Vientiane.

Present at the opening ceremony were Lao Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavath and Vietnam Ambassador Ta Minh Chau.

Under the theme of “the Party and Vietnam-Laos youth”, the exhibition showcases 70 art works of students from three universities, including Vietnam Fine Arts Teachers’ University, Lao National Faculty of Fine Art and Lao Teachers’ College.

The photos not only represent the youthfulness in the new era but also embody the students’ thankfulness to the Party, as well as the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Laos in the war time and in the national development.

The exhibition, jointly held by the Lao Fine Art Department under Ministry of Information and Culture and Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Laos to celebrate the success of Vietnam’s 11th National Party Congress and welcome the upcoming Lao 9th Party Congress, will run till March 25.

La Huy uses wax to link past and present

An installation exhibition named “Remains” uses wax to present ceramics and images. The artist, La Huy, has dipped antique Cay Mai Pottery and paper in wax to preserve them in the show at the Himiko Visual Café, 324Bis, Dien Bien Phu Street, Ward 11, in HCMC’s District 10.

The 20 piece exhibition was inspired when Huy found a broken antique elephant pedestal on the street. Huy’s father had worked in a pottery factory when Huy was a child and he often brought home ceramic models for the boy to play with.

“The elephant reminded me of some of the toys I had when I was a child, so I took it home and framed it in wax. It was like I was healing some part of my mind,” said Huy.

He liked the effect that the wax created so he made more pieces using it. Eleven of the pieces are wax covered photos of Cay Mai pottery statues at an old Chinese pagoda in District 5, bringing visitors much emotions of nostalgic and peace.

For other sculptures he dipped rolled up paper in wax, painted it and semi-rolled it up.

“La Huy always surprises with his bold ideas,” said Tran, a visitor to the show.

Huy said hoped the show would inspire people to value antiques and heritage buildings more.

The exhibition runs till March 19.

Piano recital by Irina Edelstein in Hanoi

The Vietnam National Academy of Music will host a solo piano recital by Irina Edelstein from Germany at the Concert Hall of Vietnam National Academy of Music, 77 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi at 8 p.m. on March 10.

Edelstein will play Fantaisie d-moll by Mozart, 4 Moment Musical Op 94 by Schubert and Chopin’s Mazurka, Nocturne Op 15, Fantaisie f-moll (Ballade No.4).

Edelstein studied at the Moscow Conservatory with I. Milstein. She has given concerto and recital tours in Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, the United States, and South Korea and appeared as a soloist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Hessischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Las Palmas Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Hamburger Chamber Orchestra, Sudbayerische Symphoniker.

Irina Edelstein is also a founder and artistic director of the Frankfurt based chamber orchestra “Concerto Grosso”.