Vietnamese paintings displayed in Korea; Photo exhibition to welcome anniversary of city’s liberation; City book fair attracts more than 700,000 visitors; Cosmetics brand chooses Vietnamese-American instructor

“Ao dai” by Duong Bich Lien.

100 paintings by 25 Vietnamese artists, including the great names like Duong Bich Lien, Nguyen Gia Tri, Nguyen Sang, etc. are now exhibited at the Art Museum in Busan City, South Korea.

The outstanding paintings were selected from 374 Vietnamese artworks in the Huoei collection of two Japanese collectors, Ito Toyochiki and Ito Tamiko. These pieces have been collected over a 20 year period.

The collection presented to the Busan Art Museum includes Vietnamese artworks of all kinds and materials, from oil to lacquer, woodblock and watercolor. Korean art critics praised Vietnam’s contemporary paintings highly as well as its unique position in the contemporary art history of Asia.

The exhibition is the result of cooperation among organizations and individuals in Vietnam, Korea and Japan to promote mutual-understanding and cultural exchange among the three countries.

The exhibition will be held in two stages: March 13 to April 25 and May 1 to July 11.

Photo exhibition to welcome anniversary of city’s liberation

A nine-day artistic photo exhibition, entitled Nhip Thoi Gian (Rhythm of Time), will open at Da Nang’s general science library on Thursday, said artist Phan Ngoc Hoi.

The show will display 122 works selected from Hoi’s photos, which he has taken over more than 30 years.

It will have four themes: Lich Su Trong Long Toi (The History in My Heart); Da Nang, Tinh Yeu Va Noi Nho (Da Nang, Love and Nostalgia); Dat Nuoc (The Country); and The Gioi Qua Ong Kinh Ngoc Hoi (The World through Ngoc Hoi’s Lens).

The subjects respectively describe the Party and State leaders’ activities during important events in the life of Da Nang Province, images of a developing Da Nang City, Vietnamese people’s lives and pictures of other countries.

“The exhibition takes place during these great dates,” Hoi said, referring to the upcoming holiday when the city celebrates the 35th year of its liberation and heads to the 1,000th anniversary of capital Ha Noi. “It’s a great honour for me, to contribute together with city artists, to the cultural activities of the nation.”

City book fair attracts more than 700,000 visitors

More than 700,000 readers visited the sixth annual HCM City book expo which closed on Sunday.

The Book, Knowledge, Integration and Development exhibition featured more than 200,000 titles, of which more than 4 million copies were sold during the week-long fair, a 30 per cent increase over last year.

Total revenue also increased by 30 per cent over last year, reaching to more than VND20 billion (US$1.16 million).

The HCM City Book Distribution Corporation (FAHASA) topped the list with the highest revenue, with VND8.5 billion ($447,370), while best-selling Vietnamese writer Nguyen Nhat Anh’s Dao Mong Mo (Island of Dreams) published by Tre (Youth) Publishing House was the best-seller, with 10,000 copies sold at the fair.

This year’s expo attracted 31 publishers from the UK, the US, France, China, Germany, and Spain and more than 150 publishers, stationary companies and educational organisations from Viet Nam, including Apolo, ILA, and Cleaverlearn. More than 400 stalls featured books and stationeries.

Apart from workshops to introduce new titles and discussions between writers and readers, an English Day, organised by FAHASA and the city Education and Training Department, was held on March 20 for primary students.

A photo and book exhibition on the 1,000-year history of capital Ha Noi, as well as the subjects of Uncle Ho and Sea and Islands, was held at the fair to mark several major national events this year.

Cosmetics brand chooses Vietnamese-American instructor

Michelle Phan, a Vietnamese-American student from Florida, has been contracted by make-up brand Lancome to serve as its first make-up instructor via video clips.

Phan, 22, joins a list of high-profile celebrities, including movie stars Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, supermodel Daria Werbowy and make-up expert Sandy Linter, as Lancome’s worldwide ambassadors.

She will work under the brand’s auspices to film video clips that instruct viewers in the art of make-up.

Phan has been a You Tube phenomenon for the last two year with her self-made make-up instruction video clips scoring 117 million hits and her own You Tube-based site attracting more than half a million members.

PV