Paul Christiansen

in Music & Arts

The Unquenchable Spirit of Artist Lê Triều Điển

“Điển is like a flower; there is no question of growing or not growing.”

in Music & Arts

Cổ Động's Live Session Series 'Động Tag' Returns for Season 2 With 9 Vietnamese Artists

Động Tag Live Session, Cổ Động’s series of live recordings aiming to highlight Vietnam’s up-and-coming musicians, is returning with a second season.

in Culture

The Artist Preserving Saigon's Cultural Tapestry Through Hand-Painted Signs

"In the early 2000s, the market experienced an exodus of painters due to the shift to digital; it was difficult to retain customers otherwise. I didn't want my craft to be forgotten, so I started everything all over,” Nguyễn Hoài Bảo told me in Vietnamese when I visited his studio.

in Travel

Vietnam Welcomes 21m Tourists in 2025, Highest-Ever Figure in History

Last year marked an impressive year for tourism in Vietnam. A record number of 21.17 million international tourists visite...

in Loạt Soạt

Viet Thanh Nguyen's New Essay Collection Is Both Theoretically Sharp and Intimately Tender

Last year, acclaimed Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen published To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other, a collection of six essays adapted from the prestigious Norton Lectures that he delivered at Harvard in 2023–2024.

in Travel

Hanoi's Proposal to Stop Train Service Might Spell the End of 'Train Street'

Hanoi’s infamous train street might be going away if a new municipal plan becomes a reality.

in Fashion

In Sa Pa, Learning How to Indigo Dye, One Plant, Vat, and Beeswax Pen at a Time

My first meal in Sa Pa was accidentally earned. After a few hours of uneven rest in a sleeper bus and a short ride from Sa Pa city center to the village, I finally arrived, along with two other indigo enthusiasts, at a small hill in bản Cát Cát. A few modest houses framed a quiet courtyard where indigo vats rested, and long strips of dyed fabric hung on bamboo poles, drying in the morning air.

Khôi Phạm

in Quãng 8

Hanoi Indie Duo Limebócx Brings Tried-and-Trù Traditions to Young Ears

A grazing buffalo, frolicking water puppets, mystifying tam cúc cards, an insolent maiden in áo tứ thân, a rustic meal around cái mâm. These are just a few standout visuals that will haunt your brain upon feasting your eyes on Limebócx’ debut music video ‘Yêu Nhau (Qua Cầu Gió Bay).’

Back Arts & Culture

in Arts & Culture

“Tree Spirit” Plants Lim Khim Katy’s Soothing Landscapes in Saigon

“I just fly with my knife,” Lim Khim Katy explains of the process behind her striking landscapes.

in Music & Arts

Chí Tài, Beloved Comedian and Talented Musician, Passes Away at 62

One half of the iconic comic duo Chí Tài-Hoài Linh has left us today.

Mầm

in Ton-sur-Ton

Tarp, but Make It Fashion: A Saigon Trio Upcycles Canopies Into Backpacks

With a love for the environment and ample creativity, Kiều Anh, Trang, and Tú Quân have built a unique fashion brand named Dòng Dòng Sài Gòn. The line of bags and other items created from recycled tar...

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Saigon's Covid-19 Cluster; Video Games in Vietnam

We're back!

in Film & TV

Ngô Thanh Vân to Produce Movie Based on Historical Comic Series 'Long Thần Tướng'

One of the most prestigious Vietnamese comic projects is slated for a big-screen release.

in Music & Arts

Vlogger Brittanya Karma Passes Away at 29 Due to Covid-19

Vietnam’s vlogosphere has lost a tireless beacon of positivity this year.

in Music & Arts

Vietnam's Art Fondling Epidemic and the Online Vigilante Policing It

There are many clumsy shoe prints beyond the foot-high metal boundary, next to a small sign that screams out in all caps: "PLEASE, DON’T TOUCH THE ARTWORK."

Adrien Jean

in Culture

[Photos] Get Set, Row: The Aquatic Exuberance of Soc Trang's Ooc Om Bok Festival

Also called the Moon Worship festival, Ooc Om Bok is one of the liveliest festivals in the Khmer calendar.

in Music & Arts

Citizen Earth Program Returns to Hanoi With Art, Culture, Science, and More

Citizen Earth is a Six Space project exploring art, culture, and education through a community lens. The year-long program brings together artists and researchers from various fields such as history, ...

in Music & Arts

Q&A: A History of Fading Colors — An Interview With Artist Quynh Lam

Nguyễn Đức Diễm Quỳnh (otherwise known as Quynh Lam) is a Vietnamese contemporary artist. She was trained early as a painter and was influenced by her family's traditional photography practices which ...

in Music & Arts

Saigon to Host Major Street Art Festival Next Year

Saigon is banking on the festival's success to draw international visitors back to the city after the COVID-10 pandemic subsides next year.

in Film & TV

[Video] 'Lão Hạc' Movie Adaptation Releases Trailer, to Hit Theaters Next Year

The movie is among a handful of Vietnamese features that have a dog in a starring role.

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Street Art in Vietnam; Puppetry Artist Linh Valerie Pham

A new podcast episode is available now!

Khôi Phạm

in Film & TV

Review: 'Đoạn Trường Vinh Hoa' Is Cải Lương at Its Most Heart-Wrenching

As the screening came to an end, there were quiet sobs echoing softly across the auditorium. For a lot of us viewers with water in our eyes, it was a complete surprise that a documentary about a seemi...

in Film & TV

Christ Pratt to Star in Hollywood Remake of 'Vệ Sĩ Sài Gòn'

Will Chris Pratt play the sullen or the silly half of the bodyguard duo in the Hollywood remake?

Elise Luong

in Music & Arts

Culture Lab, a Creative Feast Spanning Disciplines, Media, and Even Physical Borders

In May this year, the Goethe-Institut of Hanoi initiated the project "Xưởng Văn Hoá" (Culture Lab) in an effort to support artists and their community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: In Poetry Collection 'OM,' Đặng Thân Embraces Human Turmoil

At the heart of Đặng Thân's poetry collection, OM [Other Moments], is the poetics of dichotomy: beauty and brutality, light and darkness, hope and despair, nihilism and existentialism.

in Music & Arts

Memories of 1960s Hanoi, as Captured by a German Photographer

Manzi Art Space’s current exhibition “Hanoi 1967–1975” displays the vision of German photographer Thomas Billhardt through documentary imagery taken during his multiple trips to Hanoi from 1967 to 197...

in Music & Arts

Month of Arts Practice Returns to Hanoi With Virtual Lectures, Livestreamed Talks

For its fifth consecutive year, the annual “Month of Arts Practice” (MAP) is currently running from its base in Hanoi with a series of online events and a final exhibition opening on November 21.

in Literature

'Blind Man' by Mimi Nguyen

The blind man knows the direction of destiny.