Works from 6th Hà Nội Art Connecting on display

Artists from 27 countries and Việt Nam attend the 6th Hà Nội Art Connecting event held by Hà Nội Architectural University, Asia Art Link and Việt Nam Fine Arts Association. — Photo courtesy of organisation board

HÀ NỘI — Artworks by nearly 160 international and Vietnamese artists will be shown at Gallery Art, Hà Nội Architectural University, from October 24.

This is the fruit of a one-week event held by the university, Asia Art Link (AAL) and Việt Nam Fine Arts Association.

The 6th Hà Nội Art Connecting (HAC) event is taking place at the university with participation of international artists from 27 countries, including Thai Kamol Tassananchalee, Indonesian Edi Sunaryo, American Carolyn Munskat and Don McKinney, and popular Vietnamese artists such as Lê Huy Tiếp, Phan Cẩm Thượng, Công Kim Hoa and Trịnh Minh Tiến.

"The artists are energetic about taking part in the event," said Vietnamese popular artist and AAL founder Trịnh Tuân. "I see their desire to work and exchange their professional experiences, and overall they want to bring their artworks to the public."

This year marks the return of HAC, with its international workshop and exhibition, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. It is held at the university with a large number of students and a focus on research and training closely related to painting, design and sculpture.

HAC was born out of a collaboration between the University of Fine Arts and Design and AAL. True to its name, HAC aims to connect talented artists, creating a proactive community to promote the strengths, and cultural and artistic uniqueness of each country to international colleagues and friends.

It is also a bridge to connect artists, especially Vietnamese artists. Through HAC's activities, artists assess their positions and aesthetic perspectives, understanding their strengths and limitations in creating artworks as they work and co-create with international artists.

The international artists also express appreciation and enthusiasm for the event; they get to visit Việt Nam and participate in a prestigious art activity, delving into local cultural life. After each trip, Việt Nam always leaves a distinctive impression on them.

"Many thanks to the wonderful, talented and well-organised Tuân Trịnh - AAL founder. Thank you so much for the invitation and this wonderful time,” said artist Ewelina Kolakowska.

The Northern Irish artist Tommy Barr expressed his pleasure at attending the event.

"I am once again feeling very honoured and grateful. I was looking forward to seeing many old friends at this fabulous event in Hà Nội. It has been riding high on my bucket list for quite some time," Barr said.

For a week, the artists in the fields of painting, graphics and sculpture create directly on-site at the university, where many students, teachers and the art-loving public can come and watch the artists' work process in person.

The workshops help students to orient their next steps regarding their careers after graduation. The visitors have the chance to gain a greater understanding about a variety of different kinds of art and get a first-hand look at how artists produce their works through workshops on painting, graphics, sculpture and pottery.

The programme includes seminars on art from folk to contemporary, as well as exploring other artistic fields. The artists visited the exhibition A Tide of Emotions at Vincom Centre for Contemporary Art, and Cúc Phương National Park.

A science seminar was also held in the framework of HAC aiming at promoting international integration and developing applied fine arts training.

At the seminar, international and Vietnamese experts and artists evaluate and make orientation for art creation and applied fine arts training adapted to social practice in the context of integration.

Design training in the digital era; traditional culture preservation in applied fine arts training; and applying technology, techniques and materials in the practice of artistic creation and industrial arts training were discussed at the seminar.

HAC has grown rapidly over recent years, featuring an increasing number of artists and countries participating. In 2016, there were only five countries and 20 international artists joining.