Paul Christiansen in Loạt Soạt
In 'Water: A Chronicle,' Nguyễn Ngọc Tư Wades Into the Mekong via Vignettes
“When you’ve lived to a certain age, you don’t ask whether or not something is true, you ask which truth it is.”
In Action Together During Traveling Art Week Nổ Cái Bùm 2024
Taking place in Đà Nẵng and Hội An earlier in August 2024, the traveling art week Nổ Cái Bùm 2024 became a platform for local artists to showcase artworks, and attracted the attention of many local and international participants. From a museum space to a bar or cafe corner, from a beach site to a theater — any site can become a space for exhibitions, talks, screenings and performances.
Explore the Realm of Sơn Mài Paintings via Nguyễn Xuân Việt’s New Solo Exhibition
What does it mean for an artist to preserve and continue the legacy of traditional Vietnamese lacquer across generations? Through this solo exhibition, Nguyễn Xuân Việt showcases his vast expertise and his endless enthusiasm for lacquer painting.
Amid Saigon, a Traditional Lantern Craft Village Stands the Test of Time
Cellophane lanterns, the nostalgic anchors of our past full-moon festivals, are still alive thanks to the nimble fingers of craftspeople at the Phú Bình lantern “village” in Saigon.
This Trung Thu, Learn How to Make Lion Heads From Huế's Lân Artisans
Often seen as the heart of Central Vietnam, Huế is the birthing ground for many traditional crafts. Artisan products from the ancient city often exude its inhabitants' elegance and rustic quality. Among them, the handmade lion’s heads from Huế carry distinctive slivers of beauty within them.
Paul Christiansen in Culture
Are We Living in the Final Days of Cô Mía?
They say a person dies twice: once when their heart stops beating and a second time when people stop mentioning their name. If we alter this phrase a bit to include the last time one’s image is seen, Saigon’s beloved cô Mía may soon be receiving last rites.
Aprxel Builds Her Ethereal R&B Dreamscape With 2000s Nostalgia
“High school was when we all had lots of thoughts and reflections. And I felt like I didn’t fit in with the world around me at that time, so I turned to music as my companion,” Aprxel reflects on the period of time where her connection with music began to solidify, which ultimately set her on the path to become a music artist.
Women in Post-Đổi Mới Vietnamese Cinema: From Archetypal to Multifaceted
In Vietnamese cinema, the female figure has long been employed to deliver macro-level messages rather than just mundane narratives.
[Video] Recycle: Saigon's Uber-Cool Tattoo Parlor
Not only in Vietnam but around the world, tattoos are at once both embraced and misunderstood: older generations loathe them, younger generations view them as an important tool of self-expression.
[Video] See If You Can Spot Vietnam in This 'Skull Island' First-Look Featurette
As part of this year's MTV Movie Awards ceremony, which took place last weekend, the people behind Kong: Skull Island put out a nice little featurette teasing the forthcoming movie, which is set to pr...
Technology Has Officially Entered Saigon’s Art Scene
From the invention of farming to the advent of military drones, technology has shaped the economy, politics and culture of every society. It was inevitable that such a vital element of our lives would...
[Video] Travel the Length of Vietnam in One Minute
For those of us who prefer armchair travel, Vimeo user Riccardo Fasoli's stunning minute-long journey through Vietnam is the perfect mini holiday.
[Photos] Incredible Juxtapositions Show How China Has Changed Over the Past Century
In a country where cities rise from rice paddies, to say that China has developed rapidly over the past century is something of understatement. Self-described “photography and creativity enthusiast” D...
Animated Shorts Bring Vietnamese History to the Small Screen
In an effort to teach Vietnamese children (and perhaps adults, too) about their nation's past, one local channel has begun playing short, animated videos depicting famous moments in Vietnamese history...
[Video] Filmmaker Captures the 'Phantoms of Saigon'
In his latest short film, Phantoms of Saigon, filmmaker Pham Hong Chuyen juxtaposes poetic, almost alien angles of Saigon with the often faceless community of wandering scrap collectors who roam its s...
[GIFs] Character Building: Illustrator Brings Bitexco Tower's Personality to Life
British animator and illustrator Michael William Lester recently added some character to a few of the world’s most iconic buildings, including Saigon’s own Bitexco Tower, by way of a series of animate...
April Films at Saigon’s Alternative Movie Venues
A filmmaker fights censorship, an architect’s endeavors reassess the leftist ideology and documentarians raise awareness about contemporary capitalist practices as well as development. From fictional ...
[Photos] Hong Kong Illustrator Re-Imagines Star Wars Characters in Traditional Chinese Art
In case the memory escapes you, last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens was kind of a big deal. While it didn't make the top box office spot during its opening weekend in Vietnam, the seventh install...
[Video] Instant Noodle Commercial Outtakes Make for an Incredible Short Film
Watch a few Vietnamese TV commercials and you wouldn't characterize most local advertising as sexy.
Michael Tatarski in Music & Arts
Contemporary Asian Art Program Turns Its 'Eye' to Vietnam
In 2008, British contemporary art collector David Ciclitira and his wife Serenella, an art critic, visited South Korea. Though they were struck by the modern art scene there, the couple struggled to f...
[Video] Watch a Vietnamese Worker Singlehandedly Put This Excavator on the Back of a Truck
Vietnam does things a little differently than the rest of the world.
'Tokyo, Blind': Eerie, Black-and-White Images From a Saigon Photographer
In Tokyo, Blind, the first solo exhibition in Vietnam by Saigon-based photographer Ryan Neilan, men and women emerge as ghostly bodies, depicted either as a composite of fragmented shadows or as isola...
[Photos] VietJet Co-Pilots Get Married, Take Tarmac Wedding Photos
VietJet pilots Dang Tien Cuong and Nguyen Phuong Anh are probably the only couple to have snapped their wedding photos on the tarmac at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
[Video] Hanoian Vendors Get Fit With Market Aerobics
No one loves an office job. Sure, there are perks – the air-conditioning, the peaceful environment, the free corporate stuff – but at one point or another, every pencil-pusher has wished for a more ac...
New Rules Prohibit Swearing, Fighting or Loud Noise in Local Apartments: Ministry
If you feel the need to tell off your neighbor, let loose by turning your speakers up to 11 or just want to start an innocent fight club in your apartment, you better get to work, as none of these wil...
[Video] A Modern-Day Homage to 'Sai Gon Dep Lam'
First released around 1965, “Sai Gon Dep Lam” became an instant classic the moment it hit the airwaves. The iconic song is now considered a musical embodiment of old Saigon and has spawned dozens...
Urban Distortions: Contemporary Dance Comes to Saigon
It's mid-morning on a hot, humid Sunday in Saigon's Botanical Gardens, and the audience in front of the main stage represents an eclectic cross-section of Vietnamese society. Parents field phone conve...
[Video] Saigon Hyperlapse Takes You Through D1's Chaos in Under 3 Minutes
Saigon already runs at hyperspeed. From sunup to sundown, ours is a city constantly on the move.
