Diverse art to cheer capital’s birthday

      An art project featuring diverse contemporary forms is being established by a group of artists in Ha Noi to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.
Led by popular visual artist Dao Anh Khanh, the project will have three main events within a year from November.
Khanh has organised and featured in several shows, including Dao Xuan (Re-Spring), a multi-art and dancing series which received rave reviews.
The project’s first event, Hoi Tu Anh Sang (Light Gathering) is an exhibition for installations, sculptures, paintings and video clips.
Different materials will be used to create the art works while light from sources such as electricity, candles and fire will be used to help express the artists’ ideas, he said. Sound effects will help maximise the atmosphere for visitors.
All the works will aim to express the beauty of the people and land of the 1,000-year capital, as well as other practical issues of a modern society.
"I will create small houses standing on moving legs, named Chuyen Dong (Movement). My creation springs from the idea that life never stops," said sculptor Nguyen Ngoc Lam.
An installation by sculptor Vu Bich Thuy will include 100 eggs, symbols of the legendary first 100 children of Vietnamese people’s parents, Dragon Lac Long Quan and Fairy Au Co, on display on a section of the Ngoc Thuy-Long Bien Dyke.
"I will paint different objects on every egg to represent the different jobs of Vietnamese people, who are believed to be the offspring of Dragon and Fairy," she said.
Buddhism, the main religion in Viet Nam, is the stimulus of an installation she plans to set up of a big Smiling Buddha, who is believed to bring good luck.
The November exhibition is scheduled for the 5,000 sq.m Anh Khanh Studio in Long Bien District, as well as a 1km section of Ngoc Thuy-Long Bien Dyke.
The musical performance, Cau Am Thanh (Bridge of the Sound), will be organised for February. Unlike other performances during the musical banquet, contemporary music will accompany other Vietnamese traditional music genres such as ca tru (ceremonial singing), tuong (classical drama) and cheo (traditional opera).
Khanh said the show would feature contemporary and traditional music because the artists wanted to represent the interaction of traditional and modern music.
The final and biggest event will be a large-scale installation accompanying an art performance.
Coming from the idea every person, city and nation has vigour, 36 bamboo installations will be used to symbolise the strength and liveliness of Hanoians. It will be formed in the Anh Khanh studio precinct.
The installations will also be a background for a performance presented by Khanh and more than 100 actors.
"Like the common theme of the project’s event, the performance will depict the non-stop development of Ha Noi," Khanh said.
The Cay Doi (Life Tree) performance will take the stage in October next year.
Artists helping implement the projects include sculptors Nguyen Bao Toan, Dang Duc Thanh, Do Minh Tam, Dang Thi Khue, painters Le Quang Ha, Vuong Thao, Doan Hoang Lam, Quach Phuong Dong and musicians Xuan Son, Kim Ngoc, Vu Nhat Tan and Tri Minh.
Visual artist Khanh plans to invite foreign artists to join the project.