HCM City to host first caricature festival

The first-ever caricature festival will be held in Ho Chi Minh City to bring the art closer to the public and provide a comic playground for professional caricaturists and the audience.
The first-ever caricature festival will be held in Ho Chi Minh City tobring the art closer to the public and provide a comic playground forprofessional caricaturists and the audience.

This was stated by the organiser of the festival, The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper.

Theevents in the festival, to be held on April 6, include an exhibition ofthis year's Rong Tre (Bamboo Dragon) Journalism Caricature contestfeaturing 140 finalist entries, a live portrait caricature contest forthe audience by noted caricaturists, a workshop on Vietnam's caricatureand a graffiti art performance by a group led by artist Le Hao. Theaward ceremony for this year's Bamboo Dragon contest will also be heldat the festival.

The event will be organised between 2.30pm and 8pm at the Applied Contemporary Arts Centre, 3A Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1.

Thefourth biennial caricature contest saw 420 entries by artists fromacross the country under a free theme with the purpose of "exchangingsmiles".

The entries can be painted by both Vietnamese andforeigners living in the country and have been published or are designedto be published in various printed and online newspapers and magazinesthroughout the country between January 31, 2012 and February 14, 2014.

Thejury will give a first prize of 15 million VND (710 USD), two secondprizes, two third prizes, five encouragement prizes and a special prizeby the Vietnam Journalists' Association.

A Public Choice Prizewill be given to the winner of a vote by the audience atthethaovanhoa.vn/biemhoa. The jury includes caricaturist Ly Truc Dung(chairman), journalist Ha Minh Hue (vice chairman of VietnamJournalists' Association), journalist Ngo Ha Thai (deputy generaldirector of Vietnam News Agency) and painter Nguyen Thanh Chuong(chairman of Art Council of Graphic Field, Vietnam Fine ArtsAssociation). Art critic Nguyen Quan and painters Tran Minh Dung (penname Nhop) and Le Phuong (LEO) are also members of the jury.

According to journalist Hue, this year's entries reflected all angles of social life.

"Many of the entries bear deep meanings, which make people laugh and think twice at the same time," he said.

PainterChuong remarked that the free topic this year attracted a large numberof entries, which were varied in both form and content.

"Yet thisyear, the caricatures on the professional ethics of physiciansoutnumber other topics," he said, "This is a hot topic in today'ssociety. Hence, we can consider Bamboo Dragon contest a "thermometer"for the society (featuring hot topics of the society)."

PainterNhop stated he was impressed with the fresh initiative of a newcaricaturist who has succeeded in displaying all skills of caricature:saving words, speaking through images and expressing popular issues thatare difficult to express in words.

An initiative of Sports & Culture newspaper, the contest aims at promoting journalism caricature in the country.-VNA

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