in Music & Arts

New Exhibition on Painter Lưu Công Nhân Is a Trip Through Time

The solo exhibition allows the audience to time travel to the world of the late painter Lưu Công Nhân. From watercolor sketches to large-scale paintings, old documents, and even a typewriter on display, the paintings will take us through different time periods of his artistic career.

in Music & Arts

Minh Thúy, Muse of 'Em Thúy' by Famed Painter Trần Văn Cẩn, Passes Away

Even though both the painting’s creator and muse have left us behind, a part of their life will live on with us in an important relic of Vietnam’s 20th century history.

in Travel

A Merry Morning Over the Fish Markets and Salt Fields of Phan Rang

I live in Đà Lạt, so the most direct route to the coast brings me to Phan Rang, which is where I often go for the beach and seafood.   

in Music & Arts

Traces of Movement, Memory and Heritage in Duo Exhibition 'Entrusting to Emptiness'

An exhibition that brings the audience through the transition between day and night, and movements between dream and memories. There is no beginning and no end, and all elements above somehow reflect the cycle of our existence.

in Music & Arts

In 'Vietnam Retropunk,' a Young Illustrator Dreams of a Cyberpunk Hanoi

To Đặng Thái Tuấn, the talent behind illustration project “Vietnam Retropunk,” whimsical depictions of robots and animatronics sprouting out from everyday objects and activities embody the space in between the ancient and the futuristic.

Paul Christiansen

in Ton-sur-Ton

Easybadwork's Free Spirits Are Rooted in Nature and the Underground

A sparrow swooping across a special-edition can of Coca-Cola, the illustrations featured in the artworks of Ngọt's Grammy...

Khôi Phạm

in Music & Arts

The 1st Vietnamese Song With 1bn Views on YouTube Is About Ducks

It’s not Hoàng Thùy Linh’s catchy dance track ‘See Tình’ or the crossover Mekong Delta hit ‘Con gái miền Tây,’ the first Vietnamese song to amass one billion — or bill-ion, if you will — on YouTube is a children’s song about ducks.

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in Music & Arts

A Mosaic of Vietnam's Landscapes Through the Windows of the North-South Train

Traveling on the Reunification Express from Saigon to Hanoi feels like a ride through history and time.

Khôi Phạm

in Rewind

1735 Km, the 2005 Road Trip Romcom That Could Have Been

In 2005, I was in middle school. I had never had a cellphone nor known what the internet was — our home didn’t have ADSL until ninth grade. Life as a fledgling pupil in Saigon revolved around homework...

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

In Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's New Novel, Saigon's Rhythms Hum in the Background

“I’m always homesick for Vietnam. To write is to return home. That's why I had to bring Vietnam alive onto the pages. I had to hear the people speak, I had to listen to the music, to the language; I h...

in Culture

An Homage to Rastaclat, the Coolest Bracelets of Our High School Years

During my teenage years when a lot of us were trying new things, I can remember certain trending items affected our lifestyle. For me, amongst the most memorable was the Hypebeast culture that ca...

in Film & TV

Cannes Caméra D'or Winner 'Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell' to Hit Vietnam Theaters in August

Following its win at the latest Cannes Film Festival, Bên Trong Vỏ Kén Vàng (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell) will officially premiere in theaters across Vietnam next month.

in Ton-sur-Ton

Chiecquanque Breathes Life Into Patchwork to Create Unique Handmade Clothing

Chiecquanque is an independent fashion brand presenting clothing items, backpacks and bags that were handcrafted. Each item that the store carries is a one-off creation that exists on its own due to t...

Khôi Phạm

in Film & TV

A (Non-Exhaustive) Ranking of 10 Vietnamese Queer Movies in History

How would you define a “queer” film?

in Music & Arts

Ukiyo Concert to Bring Iconic Scores of Makoto Shinkai Movies to Life This July

This month, fans of Japanese auteur Makoto Shinkai will have a rare opportunity to watch the soundtracks of his hit movies come alive during three concerts in Saigon and Hanoi.

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

Vignette: How Bình Định's Nón Ngựa Gave Me Hope for the Tourism Industry

In 1964, when Đỗ Văn Lan was only 14 years old, a group of American soldiers spent six months at his family’s Bình Định home learning how to make nón ngựa. Once he learned that I am American, he told ...

in Trích or Triết

In Xuân Diệu's Tender Poetry, a Reminder to Love Honestly and Courageously

“Tenderly, fondly, Xuân Diệu held on to my wrist, caressing it up and down. Our eyes locked in affection…Xuân Diệu loved me.”

in Music & Arts

Trần Trung Lĩnh's Latest Art Collection Is an Homage to Saigon and Van Gogh

Van Gogh’s distinctive palette is perhaps one of the most recognizable personal styles in the art world, and viewers of Vietnamese artist Trần Trung Lĩnh’s artworks are sure to be amused to see these ...

in Literature

'The Shard, the Tissue, an Affair': A Short Story by Andrew Lam

This short story is featured in Volume 2 of In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn, a three-part, bilingual collection of works by more than 20 Vietnamese arti...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'The Chosen and the Beautiful,' a Queer, Magical, Asian American Gatsby Remix

“The Great Gatsby, but with an Asian American narrator and some of the characters are queer and there’s magic.” This is a fine elevator explanation for The Chosen and the Beautiful.

in Music & Arts

Cá Hồi Hoang to Disband After National Tour Marking 10 Years of Making Music

On the cusp of their current nationwide tour, indie band Cá Hồi Hoang abruptly announced that they would disband after touring finishes.

in Culture

The Hanoi Village Where Making Folding Fans Involves Every Family

One summer day, I made a trek into suburban Hanoi to Thạch Thất District. Walking along the dirt road surrounded by green maturing rice fields, I reached Chàng Sơn Village.

Paul Christiansen

in Music & Arts

Art Exhibition 'Ngẫu Biến' Invites Viewers to Find Their Own Meaning

“When you write, you go inside yourself, when you paint, you go outside,” said poet and painter ng. anhan.

in Film & TV

Filmmakers Trần Anh Hùng, Phạm Thiên Ân Win Awards at Cannes Film Festival

At the 76th Cannes International Film Festival, Phạm Thiên Ân's Bên trong vỏ kén vàng (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell) was awarded the Camera D'or while Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Trần Anh ...

in In Plain Sight

In Hanoi, the Vietnam Museum of Nature Is an Inquisitive Child's Heaven

Amidst the dull, grey buildings of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, a giant dinosaur model stands out. The T-Rex was guarding the entrance to the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (Bảo ...

Khôi Phạm

in Film & TV

Review: Wow! This Brochure for Vietnam Tourism Has a Plot and a Romance.

I was prepared to hate A Tourist’s Guide to Love on sight. As a movie setting, Vietnam has been burned by foreign productions one too many times, so I often find myself dry-heaving whenever any intern...

Paul Christiansen

in In Plain Sight

An Ode to Saigon’s Chò Nâu Trees

It’s too cold for chò nâu to grow where I’m from, but we still gave it an English name: dipterocarp.