RMIT promotes Vietnamese art and culture to the world

Tiếng Việt

RMIT promotes Vietnamese art and culture to the world

The Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design 2020 helps young people in Vietnam unleash their creativity and innovative ideas to the world.

The festival supports young people in creative industries, as well as promotes Vietnamese art and culture through a series of exhibitions, workshops, talks and art competitions.

RMIT Dean of the School of Communication & Design Professor Julia Gaimster emphasised the necessity for the festival, which will run from 7-22 November, for Vietnamese artists and youth.

“The creative and cultural industries play a key role in the socio-economic development of Vietnam and in order to compete on the world stage, the country needs to nurture and showcase its creative talent,” Professor Gaimster said.

Creating impact and promoting Vietnamese creativity

As part of the festival, the RMIT contemporary Vietnamese art exhibition No Rain without Clouds: Preserving Vietnamese Art & Culture for the Future, which includes 30 works from Vietnamese artists, introduces fresh and new interpretations on issues from young emerging artists.

RMIT contemporary Vietnamese art exhibition No Rain without Clouds: Preserving Vietnamese Art & Culture for the Future will also be accessible online.

RMIT contemporary Vietnamese art exhibition "No Rain without Clouds: Preserving Vietnamese Art & Culture for the Future" is also accessible online.

RMIT School of Communication & Design lecturers and co-curators of the exhibition Dr Emma Duester and Michal Teague, said that the exhibition contemplates the role of art collections in the preservation and promotion of Vietnam’s arts and culture, as well as the dynamics between traditions and urban life.

“‘No Rain without Clouds’ is a phrase, which resonates in the sense that without heritage – or the past – there would be no future, just as the rain needs to be “nurtured” by the clouds,” Ms Teague said.

“It has a lot to do with preservation – not only in terms of preserving art, but also preserving a city for future generations,” Dr Duester said.

The exhibition will be followed by an award ceremony for an art review competition, and an offline discussion on the impact on the arts and cultural landscape of Vietnam this year.

“Echo IV” by artist Ha Tri Hieu from the RMIT Contemporary Art Collection is part of the “No Rain without Clouds” exhibition.

The festival has also invited artists in Australia and Vietnam to jointly exhibit in a virtual exhibition Skilled Hands, Shared Culture, co-organised by RMIT Gallery, Vietnam National Institute for Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS) and Vietcraft.

VICAS Director and Associate Professor Dr Bui Hoai Son said that the exhibition is looking to feature the important role that art, craft and design practices play in driving and sustaining community development.

He said that the festival would connect Vietnamese and Australian designers, artists and craftspeople to exchange knowledge and cross-culture discussions.

Creating opportunities for young people

In order to prepare students to be ready for life and work, and to be tomorrow’s leaders of Vietnam, a number of selected RMIT student works are also being displayed through the online Impact showcase, as part of the festival.

“The vision of a futuristic world” by RMIT Digital Media student Pham Tuan Kiet is exhibited in the Impact showcase.

“We wanted to engage more with the local community and to provide not just a platform for local creative and cultural organisations, but also to showcase the talent of young people,” Professor Gaimster said.

Sustainable development is not a new concept in Vietnam, yet many of us may not be aware of the diverse ways that sustainable development impacts our cities and communities.

During the festival, young people have also had opportunities to speak out and exchange creative and sustainable ideas through an online competition “Vietnam 2030: Visions of the Future”.

The organisers and distinguished guests cut the ribbon to officially mark the beginning of Vietnam Festival of Creative & Design 2020 at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi.

The organisers and distinguished guests cut the ribbon to officially mark the beginning of the Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design 2020 at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi.

The festival kicked off on 6 November at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi and will run for 16 days (7-22 November). There will be online and offline activities including promoting traditionally-made lacquer paintings, Hát Chèo traditional performances by peasants in northern Vietnam, assembling Vietnam’s folk paintings from recycled fabrics, and discussions about Hanoi and the cultural economy in Vietnam. More events can be found at http://vfcd.events/.

Story: Thuy Le

Communication and design

Media Release

06 November 2020