Contemporary Arts in Hanoi

The first week in Hanoi was all a blur of bikes, food and museums. It is quite difficult so develop an understanding of such a rich culture both as a tourist and in such a short amount of time. Therefore I realize that I do not have a comprehensive understanding of the Vietnamese museum or art community.

Over the past 6 days of lectures and museum experience, we have been considering the importance of community engagement within museums and the subsequent effects that this may have within those communities.

I have been reflecting on a number of experiences that lead me to question, if there was a greater community engagement with museums in relation to contemporary art, would this lead to a stronger arts community within Hanoi?

As a young emerging artist myself, I personally attribute a great deal of my self-education to contemporary arts spaces in Brisbane such as the IMA, QAG/GOMA, artist run initiatives and student shows. These all are successful as a result of the great support and enthusiasm of the creative community within Brisbane. Unfortunately, as I understand, this is not the case in Vietnam. In speaking to a number of young Vietnamese people active in their current arts community, they do not believe they are supported or accepted by their country. There is a significant lack of funding for many artists and a lack of understanding of their practices.

Our wonderful translator Yen who is involved with the management of Arts Collective that we visited on Friday night, explained to me that many of these people are looked down upon or considered strange or rebellious by their peers. I was also told that many young artists rarely sell or show works, and that when they do it is usually to an international audience. However, in visiting places such as Arts Collective, commercial galleries and art spaces such as Manzi, there is evidence of an enthusiastic group of artists in Hanoi.

I just wonder, how can a young, contemporary artistic community grow in significance and skill without this being reflected within their museums and society??

In visiting the Fine Arts Museum on Tuesday, I was blown away by the diversity and historical significance of the works included. Representation of the great history of Vietnam, ethnic communities and international influence were all represented in the collections, however I found a great void when searching for contemporary Vietnamese art. There was a number of works from the past decade included on the third floor of the Museum, however these works were similar to those that you would find in a commercial gallery. The majority of these works did not challenge or question society, push boundaries or explore mediums. In not including a comprehensive selection of contemporary art, this may be the first cause for a large community to become dis-engaged with a National Fine Arts Museum.

The mission of the Museum is to ‘preserve and protect the countries art heritage’. I do believe that a reconsideration of this to include a stronger commitment to the documentation of art from the 21^st century would strongly benefit both the museum and its community. This could be achieved in the short term by public programming initiatives or acquisition of new works. However, as we have discussed at length in the workshops over the week, public programming is NOT the same thing as community engagement. On a grander scale, a greater commitment such as a new building dedicated to contemporary art may also fill this void, much like GOMA successfully managed to do with the Brisbane community upon its opening in 2006. For Vietnamese museums to embrace modern art that is existent within current Vietnamese culture and to allow further exploration of international arts may introduce many new narratives to the museum and attract a wide array of new audiences. In particular, stronger engagement with the University of Fine Arts in Hanoi, I am sure, would be invaluable to the education of the students.

Vietnamese communities are all so diverse with many exciting stories to be shared. Museums such as the Fine Art Museum in Hanoi are the perfect resource to engage with individuals and celebrate the growing trends within artistic communities. 

Author: Molly Shields