Uyên Đỗ

in Arts & Culture

Strangevisuals Is an Archive of Daily Life on Postcards of Rice and Dó Papers

What are our memories made of?

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Within the Shocking Brutality of Queer Novel 'Parallels' Rests Poignant Poetry

Parallels by Vũ Đình Giang shocked me. While I refrain from spoiling its plot, allow me to share my experience when reading this novel, as translated by Khải Q. Nguyễn, to better explain how the book jolted me from expectations and why the experience provides a unique and valuable addition to the array of Vietnamese novels translated into English.

in Music & Arts

‘129BPM’ Carries the Contemporary Hip-Hop Heartbeat From Vietnam to Malaysia

Under the shared heartbeat of “129BPM,” the dancers channeled their emotions through movement, navigating between individuality and collectivity both on and off stage. Extending beyond Vietnamese audiences, the piece has now been presented on an international platform at George Town Festival 2025 in Penang, Malaysia, marking a significant milestone for Vietnamese contemporary hip-hop performance on the international stage.

in Trích or Triết

Trần Dần, the Literary Maverick Teaching Us How We Should and Can Be an Artist

In the mind of many Vietnamese readers, the name of writer Trần Dần has been inextricably linked with artistic experimentation and innovation. His poetic voice feels nothing like those of writers I learnt back in high school: there is something so different, refreshing and oddly contemporary about it. As I consider every page of his bulky posthumously published anthology Thơ (Poetry), I find his legacy remains inspirational even for contemporary readers — especially other young Vietnamese — on what it means to “be an artist.” This does not only entail one’s appreciation and production of Vietnamese art, but also their adoption of an artist’s mindset into daily life.

in Travel

A Tribute to the Incredibly Eye-Catching, Organic Signage of Sa Đéc

Signs are like voices.

Linh Phạm

in Travel

On a Walking Tour, Mulling Over the Glorious Past and Odious Present of Tô Lịch River

We began our journey in front of a bank where the street Trần Nhật Duật turned into Chợ Gạo.

in Music & Arts

In 1920s–1940s Paris, Vietnamese Artists Painted Through the Interwar Period as the 'Others'

How did Vietnamese artists navigate the complex tides of social and political changes, and mark their own position in the art world as the “Others” during interwar Paris — which was celebrated as the “City of Lights,” yet also a stage for both colonial propaganda and a ground for anti-colonial resistance?

Back Arts & Culture

in Arts & Culture

Sweden Just Held Its Largest Ever Exhibition of Contemporary Vietnamese Art

Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam – the most comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Vietnamese art ever presented in Sweden – features installations, drawings, paintings, videos and scu...

in Music & Arts

Stunning Vietnamese Children's Book Wins Asia-Wide Prize

When it comes to reading materials for kids, Vietnam is full of small, inexpensive paperbacks, but seldom does the country produce a colorful, high-quality storybook like The First Journey.

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Music & Arts

The Music Man: Mark Gergis' Old-School Saigon Soul

When he was young, Mark Gergis – like most American teenagers – spent a lot of time sifting through records (or cassettes or CDs or iTunes...whatever your generation did). It was the 1980s, and there ...

in Film & TV

Vietnamese Film Submitted to 2016 Oscars

For the first time in two years, a Vietnamese film is in the running for an Academy Award.

in Music & Arts

Islands, Archipelagos and Other Liquid Territories: Exploring the High Seas with Map Office

Acclaimed Hong Kong-based artists Laurent Gutierrez and Valerie Portefaix of Map Office bring to Dia Projects their first solo show in Saigon, titled Islands, Archipelagos and Other Liquid Territories...

in Culture

[Photos] 15 Old Photos to Celebrate Vietnamese Women's Day

Today marks the 85th Vietnamese Women's Day. A nationally observed holiday since 1930, October 20 commemorates the day upon which the country's Women's Union was officially established and recognized ...

in Music & Arts

Saigon Student Creates Vietnam-Themed Alphabet

When Luu Trong Nhan first came across Around the World with Type, a project by Indian design students Rigved Sathe and Payal Jagwani, the 23-year-old student knew he could create an equally stunning V...

in Culture

[Video] Insane Buon Ma Thuot Floods Sweep Away Motorbikes

In Vietnam's latest installment of flood-related news, yet another deluge has struck the country, this time in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot.

in Music & Arts

Phnom Penh to Transform Abandoned Ship Into Floating Arts Center

Phnom Penh is about to get a new attraction in an old, deteriorating boat.

in Music & Arts

[Video] Downtown Saigon Is at Its Best in This Drone Video

Sometimes, when you're trapped in a gridlock of rush hour traffic, struck by an especially foul scent or awoken by the ear-splitting noise of roosters, construction projects and chatty next-door neigh...

in Music & Arts

Event Rewind: Beer Fest @ Saigon Outcast

Last Saturday, crowds of thirsty Saigoneers flocked to Saigon Outcast for its first-ever Beer Fest, which celebrated the city's growing number of craft beer producers.

in Arts & Culture

[Video] Saigon Ad Agency Portrays Romance With a Good, Old-Fashioned Cavity Search

Most Vietnamese TV commercials are pretty much the same: there's a bit of dancing, a few graphics and a handful of attractive young people parading across the screen. Everything is glossy, well-produc...

in Music & Arts

Saigoneer's September Art Picks

After the city's gallery scene took a summer hiatus, Saigoneer is back with our art picks for the month. September was off to a good start with a variety of exhibitions, employing everything from urba...

in Music & Arts

New Edition Of Standpoint Theories Will Hit Saigon This Month

Multi-disciplinary production company Standpoint Theories returns to Saigon with three performances of Legends of Vietnam: Remix, an evolution of last year's Legends of Vietnam. The new and improved p...

in Culture

Thai Binh Businessman Builds Made-in-Vietnam Mini Submarine

We all have our hobbies: for some it's tennis, for others it's golf, and for one guy in northern Thai Binh province, it's building military-grade submarines.

in Film & TV

October Movies At Saigon’s Alternative Film Venues

It is not Halloween without a dose of horror. Check out which spooky films made the list this year at Saigon's alternative movie-viewing venues. If zombies, ghosts and paranormal activity are not your...

in Film & TV

New Victor Vu Film Wins at International Festival

Last week, Vietnamese film Tôi Thấy Hoa Vàng Trên Cỏ Xanh (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass) took home the Feature Films of 2015 award at China's Silk Road International Film Festival, held in Fujian...

in Music & Arts

Zelda Goes To The Gallery: Khói Sóng

Khói Sóng, Ha Manh Thang’s new exhibition and his second at Galerie Quynh, is part of the artist's ongoing Vietnam Landscapes (2010 – present) project, in which his reflections on Vietnamese...

in Music & Arts

[Video] Whoever Made This Drone Video of Vietnam's Floods Has a Sense of Humor

Last week, when we all had floodwater up to our kneecaps and half of Saigon was stuck in rush hour traffic, someone was having a good time in northern Vietnam with a drone camera.

in Music & Arts

The Story of the Greatest Female Pirate Retold via Cinemagraph

When it comes to brave, daring women, Asia has no shortage of badass heroines. In Vietnam alone, historical figures like Vo Thi Sau and the Trung sisters are hailed for their courage and str...