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Viet Art Centre

Cooperation comes in many forms. Family relations. Business partners. Simple friendship. Certainly Vietnam, with its renowned ancestral traditions and recent past of socio-economic collectivization, is no place to think of mutual aid as a novelty. Yet, the creeping competitiveness of a boom-town business culture and the, at times, less than transparent nature of the local who-knows-who can make an average day seem something other than “cooperative”. All the more refreshing is it to find the Viet Art Centre and its reverence for the sincerity of Vietnamese traditions ranging from craft to the elusive art of cooperation itself. The Viet Art Centre is a multi-tiered cooperative effort taking place on the interlocking levels of a café, a revolving art space, the adjoining art museum, the Hanoi University of Fine Arts, and even the Central Committee for Culture and Ideology…all overseen by dynamic husband and wife duo Dao Vu (painter) and Minh Ha (designer). A few short years ago, each was working in the publishing world, bringing aspects of Vietnamese culture to the larger world via the printed page. Upon their “retirement” from publishing, they took on the task of giving their passion for Vietnamese arts a physical space to call home. On any given day, one may find them managing the attached café that serves as a precious source of income for the centre, putting together yet another series of installations for display, or guiding a curious visitor through the nuances of an exhibit. It’s best to check in frequently. The space is rarely dormant. The last few weeks give an indication of what times are like. APEC brought the Ministry of Culture calling with a showcase event for dignitaries and the general public alike. On display in the both the Art Museum and the Viet Art Centre were the work of nearly ninety of the nation’s most renowned classical and contemporary lacquer artists. This has given way to the current display of handmade clothing of traditional style and structure compliments of the Que Gallery (Ms. Ha’s own work among it). In the coming week, the space will be taken over by the Vietnam Arts in Development Capacity Building Programme Showcase: Harnessing Vietnamese creativity across different sectors, an effort of the David Glass Ensemble and the Vietnam Stage Artists Association. Blink and you’ll miss something. If this sounds like your sort of thing, don’t be shy about stopping in. The potential for involvement is as multi-tiered as their operation. A cup of coffee and stroll through the space is support. Volunteers are welcome and offered intimate involvement in this nexus of cultural advocacy. Yearly memberships are also available for both individuals and organizations. Private event entry, workshop & training class membership, exhibition space, and official sponsorship status are some of the benefits of membership. Get in touch with them for a complete list of the others. Support can also come in less unorthodox forms. Recommend an artist. Design an exhibit. Introduce a friend. As strange as it may seem, one of the most valuable things you can do is to introduce some of your Vietnamese friends to the centre. Bring them out to an event. The irony is that Vu and Ha’s drive to promote Vietnamese culture often finds the most support in foreign circles. They struggle to bring in their fellow Hanoians, but a little cooperation on our part, as simple as it sounds, would be a much appreciated part of our own participation.

Written by alpha

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