A history of the Hanoi Old Quarter is reflected in documentary photosand installation art works on display at an exhibition at the Viet ArtCentre, 42 Yet Kieu, Hanoi .
In the exhibition, Reminders of Old Streets, young artists like NguyenHuy An, Le Tran Hau Anh, Nguyen Quoc Thanh and Tran Hau Yen The tellstories of loss and change to the capital's cultural heritage.
The exhibition is arranged to be interactive, through the display andperformances of artisans from Hang Ma street , which were oncepopular in the old streets.
Nguyen Thanh Loan wasinterested to find an embroidery frame by which patrons of theexhibition could contribute to the making of an embroidered picture ofHanoi .
"I tried to embroider a small part of thepicture. It's a really interesting idea, as if I am able to contributeto a portrayal of Hanoi 's image," she says.
Thanh's artworks play with motifs of the Old Quarter: old houses withcurved, tile roofs; young women in traditional robes.
The motifs create a romantic, but commercialised image of the city. The artworks include portraits shot in the streets.
The aim is not to capture the reality of Hanoi (it is not adocumentary) or to reconstruct the old images of Hanoi . Instead, itplays with the romantic and sentimental imagination of the city.
Old Hanoi and the present-day expanded capital have shown the importance of handicraft villages and guild streets.
Global integration is challenging Vietnam on how to retain theunique characteristics of its culture. Also the process ofwesternisation or sinosisation has caused pressure on heritage values.
The heritage of Hanoi 's old streets will be discussed at a seminar on 6pm August 18 at the exhibition space.
It will be joined by art critic Nguyen Quan, painter Tran Hau Yen Theand Dr Nguyen Van Huy, former director of Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.
The exhibition will run until tomorrow as part ofactivities funded by the Vietnam-Denmark Cultural Exchange andDevelopment Fund to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi./.
In the exhibition, Reminders of Old Streets, young artists like NguyenHuy An, Le Tran Hau Anh, Nguyen Quoc Thanh and Tran Hau Yen The tellstories of loss and change to the capital's cultural heritage.
The exhibition is arranged to be interactive, through the display andperformances of artisans from Hang Ma street , which were oncepopular in the old streets.
Nguyen Thanh Loan wasinterested to find an embroidery frame by which patrons of theexhibition could contribute to the making of an embroidered picture ofHanoi .
"I tried to embroider a small part of thepicture. It's a really interesting idea, as if I am able to contributeto a portrayal of Hanoi 's image," she says.
Thanh's artworks play with motifs of the Old Quarter: old houses withcurved, tile roofs; young women in traditional robes.
The motifs create a romantic, but commercialised image of the city. The artworks include portraits shot in the streets.
The aim is not to capture the reality of Hanoi (it is not adocumentary) or to reconstruct the old images of Hanoi . Instead, itplays with the romantic and sentimental imagination of the city.
Old Hanoi and the present-day expanded capital have shown the importance of handicraft villages and guild streets.
Global integration is challenging Vietnam on how to retain theunique characteristics of its culture. Also the process ofwesternisation or sinosisation has caused pressure on heritage values.
The heritage of Hanoi 's old streets will be discussed at a seminar on 6pm August 18 at the exhibition space.
It will be joined by art critic Nguyen Quan, painter Tran Hau Yen Theand Dr Nguyen Van Huy, former director of Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.
The exhibition will run until tomorrow as part ofactivities funded by the Vietnam-Denmark Cultural Exchange andDevelopment Fund to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi./.
