New National Museum being built in Hanoi

US$524mil museum and the shortage of funds for heritage preservation

 VietNamNet Bridge - VND11.27 trillion ($524 million) is the amount of money that will be spent to build the new National Museum of History in Hanoi. Meanwhile, if several billion dong was quickly poured for the renovation of Tram Gian Buddhist Temple, this national relic should have not been harmed.

The perspective of the new National History Museum. The main
building will be built on about 20,483m2.



The current National Museum of History.

A few months ago, when VietNamNet’s correspondents wrote reports on museums in Hanoi, we heard the Deputy Director of the National History Museum to mention about a project to build a new museum on a vast area of land near the West Lake.

And over one week ago, the Ministry of Construction sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment a report on the construction of the Museum of National History with investment capital up to more than VND11 trillion.

Exactly--this project, with a total investment of up to VND11.28 billion, will be built by capital from the state budget. The museum will be built at the new residential area of West Lake in Hanoi, with a total area of nearly 10 hectares.

The objective of this work is to become a modern museum to meet the conservation, preservation, collection, and display of artifacts to serve the needs of visitors, scientific research, education... and many other functions.

Nobody knows that when the new national history museum opens in 2016, the former National Museum of History will be used for what purpose?

It is known that this massive project will be developed by the Ministry of Construction and be managed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST). The later ministry will be also the developer of some project components (content and form of display).

If this project is carried out in accordance with the roadmap, the construction will last from November 2012 to May 2016.

The National Museum of History will be checked and taken over and then handed over to the MOCST from July 2016. One this work is completed, it promises to be one of the largest museums in the Southeast Asia.

It should be said that the National History Museum is an ambitious work, which is not only large in size but also in terms of investment. Upon hearing information about this museum, a lot of people working in the cultural and museum fields, were very surprised and said that this is like a joke because in the current tough economic times, the amount of money invested in such a museum is too big and too hard to imagine.

But their biggest worry is that when this huge project is completed, how we will operate and manage it to promote its efficiency. And, what will we display in the huge campus of the museum?

The Hanoi Museum was built at the cost of VND2.3 trillion (US$115 million)
without being effectively used.

The Hanoi Museum, with investment capital of up to VND2.3 trillion ($115 million), was inaugurated two years ago. But it is still referred to as a hollow shell without content. This museum has almost no customers and...nothing to display.

It opened two years ago but the Museum of Hanoi is still in the test phase of display and it will officially open in 2014 as planned. After one year and a half opening its door, the museum had only 130,000 visitors. As the museum was so quiet, the management board sometimes hired the museum’s spaces for weddings.

When the lesson from the VND2.3 trillion museum is still burning, the story about a bigger museum, with investment of 5 times higher has caused many people concern. The crucial problem is now how effectively explore existing museums, not to invest trillion dong to build new museums that have nothing to display.

Some experts have expressed their worry about the National History Museum project, especially, how will it be operated? The human resource to manage that huge museum? The plan and display script? The strategy to attract viewers? The project implementation is scheduled to start November 2012 but people do not see any professional activity being started.

In a conversation with VietNamNet about museums in Vietnam, Prof. Nguyen Van Huy, former director of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, a member of the scientific advisory council for the construction and management board of the National History Museum shared as follows:

"Currently we have a movement to build giant museums, which are hollow after being built, because there is nothing to show, there is no person in charge of research and organization of exhibitions. Visitors do not know what to see to fit their needs. "

The question how to make the National History Museum operate efficiently is certainly not easy to answer.

In a separate development which is completely on the opposite, involving a national historic building – Tram Giang temple, is a topic that is still very hot.

Through the presentation of related sides, it turns out that the Chuong My District People's Committee (where hosts Tram Gian temple) asked the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to together petition the Hanoi authorities’ permission to restore Tram Gian Temple and Hanoi government agreed on the policy from November 2009.

But until July 2011, the Hanoi Department Culture, Sports and Tourism proposed the Hanoi administration to allocate funding for the temple’s renovations. One year later, the Hanoi City People's Committee approved the above plan in written. But since then the restoration project remained dormant due to lack of investment capital, although many items of the temple were severely degraded leading to the temple’s management board to arbitrarily raise money, dismantle the main structures, causing the painful story as we have known.

If funding for the restoration was allocated earlier, the temple would have not been harmed.

If only a small amount of capital from museum projects was extracted to invest in restoration of historical monuments, it would have been definitely different.

If money was poured in restoration in time, many structures in the Tram Gian temple would not have been chopped apart.

Hanh Phuong

 

Mummy over 100 yrs old preserved.

The secret of mummy at Vietnam History Museum

June 8, 2011  about Uncategorized

VietNamNet Bridge – A mummy of over 100 years old is now preserved and displayed at the HCM City-based Vietnam History Museum.

 

The Vietnam History Museum in HCM City.

This mummy was discovered over 17 years ago by Vietnamese archaeologists while excavating a tomb with two coffins in Cui village in Ward 8, District 5 in HCM City.

The tomb was built firmly, using coral powder as quicklime, sand, treacle and active coal. It contained two coffins. One had an intact body of woman of around 60 years old, 1.52m height. The body was rolled in many layers of cloth and covered by a strange solution in red brown color. The other coffin contained a male body, but only some bones and items were left.

 

According to scientists, the female body is kept untouched because her coffin was covered by a layer of paint (like tar), which prevented water to absorb into the body and the solution in the coffin to run out.

Archaeologists found out a piece of silk that notes the biography of the mummy. The mummy is Mrs. Tran Thi Hieu, a patrician under the Nguyen Dynasty. She died at the age of around 60.

The patrician was buried with many objects like rings, a Buddhist necklace and bracelets, many pieces of silk, a pair of shoes made by leather and cloth, etc.

 

The mummy was brought to the HCM City Medical University’s Hospital for research and it was then moved to the Vietnam History Museum for preservation and display.

The mummy is now displayed in a separate room at the museum, with 19 items found in the two coffins, including: seven rings, one silver-made lime box, one betel grinding box, one horn comb in the coffin of the man and two gold bracelets, one Buddhist necklace and one pair of shoes in the woman’s coffin.

Two bottles containing the strange solutions in coffins are also displayed.

 

The mummy is periodically checked and maintained by medical experts.

The Vietnam History Museum is located at No. 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1. The museum is the home to over 30,000 historical items of Vietnam.

PV

HCM City Museum of Fine Art expanded

April 28, 2011 about Uncategorize

LookAtVietnam - In
its over 20 years of operation, the museum has been expanded by nearly 1,500
sq.m for the first time. The expanded area is the space to display most special
collections of southern region.

The expanded area is a building adjacent to the museum. The
new building opened on April 23, introducing items collected in 2006-2010.
Displayed items include nearly 300 paintings, statues and sketches of the total
1,400 items collected in the last five years.

The building was previously the home of a Chinese
Vietnamese, which was built in the early 20^th century.

The HCM City Fine Arts Museum was established on September
5th, 1987. It is recognized as a first class national museum by the Vietnam’s
Ministry of Culture.

Housed in a three-story colonial building, the Art Museum in
Saigon has a rich collection finest artworks
ranging from classical sculptures to contemporary paintings.

The museum’s huge collection of displays include
contemporary paintings by renowned Vietnamese and foreign artists, traditional
handicrafts created by the nation’s ethnic groups, Vietnamese antiques like
red-lacquered and gilded products, ceramics, mother-of-pearl inlaid wood and
exhibits of Western art.

c

Some priceless Cham, Indian and Khmer pieces are also kept
in this museum.

The first floor of this museum displays the spectacular
creations of Vietnamese and foreign artists.

The second floor exhibits the paintings and carvings done by
the renowned artists of Vietnam
along with some outstanding creations of foreign artists.

The third floor preserves the priceless artworks created
between the 7th and early 20th century. The valuable Cham and Oc Eo art works
developed between the 7th and the 17th centuries are also kept in this floor of
this museum. The exhibits of Vietnam’s
Occidental art, which originated between 18th and early 20th century and
traditional Vietnamese artworks are also preserved here.

The contact details of the Saigon’s
famous Art Museum are as follows:

Address: 97A Pho
Ðuc Chinh St., District 1, HCMC

Phone number: 8294441-8222441

Fax number: 8213508

HCMC museum puts 300 new acquisitions on display | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

HCMC museum puts 300 new acquisitions on display

April 25, 2011 about Lifestyle

“Pounding rice in Bom bo village” by painter Quach Phong is one of works on display at an ongoing exhibition in HCMC.

The Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum Saturday opened a display of about 300 artifacts it acquired over the last five years (2006 to 2010).
The displayed works include paintings, statutes and sketches made before and after 1975, when the Vietnam War ended. They are among 1388 items collected by the museum in the five years, officials said.Â
Works by famous Vietnamese artists including Nguyen Gia Tri, Tu Duyen, Kim Bach, Quach Phong and Tran Nguyen Dan are included in the exhibition.
The display marks the completion of restoration work on a two-storied building, built early 20th century, at the museum. The restoration has retained the design and structure of the 1,000 square meter building.
The exhibition is open at the newly-restored building, 97 Pho Duc Chinh in District 1. The museum, which has more than 20,000 exhibits, attracts about 200,000 visitors a year.

Reported by Van Khoa

Private Museum of famous painters Open in Vietnam

 People in the countryside rarely have the chance to encounter fine arts, but villagers in Phuc Duc have been lucky; residents there have the chance to enjoy works by famous painters thanks to painter and collector Phan Thi Ngoc My.

Embodied art

Little by little, after 20 years of collecting, My opened a private museum, the first in Viet Nam. It is located at the foot of Sai Son Mountain, in Quoc Oai District, 30km southwest of downtown Ha Noi. This is the area where the Thay Pagoda was built in the 11th century during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong.

Her museum, which shares her name, has thousands of paintings, ceramic items and fine art handicrafts. Along with the paintings and items she has collected, the museum also introduces many pieces done by the painter herself.

At present, she owns many pictures from three generations of painters: Painters who graduated from the Fine Arts College of Indochina (1925-1945) such as Nguyen Gia Tri, Luu Van Sin, Tran Quang Tran, Pham Hau, Nguyen Do Cung, and Hoang Lap Ngon; painters who graduated from the Fine Arts School of Viet Bac resistance zone (1950-1953) such as Luu Cong Nhan, Tran Luu Hau, Linh Chi and Le Huy Hoa; and painters from the Fine Arts College of Viet Nam (1955-1984) such as Nguyen Thu, Sy Tot, Tran Khanh Chuong and Truong Be.

“I came across My’s museum by chance. I was really surprised because the paintings were displayed very systematically according to different historical periods. Few people can do that,” said Ngoc Linh, a museum visitor.

My’s innate understanding of painting helped her amass a collection of valuable pictures using the Vietnamese concept of qui ho tinh bat quy ho da (Value resides in quality, not quantity).

“In the 1980s, when finding enough food was difficult, I began collecting paintings and antiques. Sometimes, I had to sell a house to buy valuable paintings,” said My.

Last June, Japanese collector Toykichi Itoh presented several paintings to the museum that had previously been praised and exhibited at museums in Japan.

Painter Tran Khanh Chuong, chairman of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association, said “In the doi moi (renewal) process, our State allowed private collections to become private museums, and My established the nation’s first. Visitors can see many works from different angles. I know that My collected many things, especially paintings from 1930-1940, and from the period’s of resistance war against the Americans and the French. It’s a precious collection.”

My is a 6th generation descendant of famous Confucian scholar Phan Huy Ich. Since childhood, she has lived in a literary and artistic environment where she learnt to draw on her own.

Improved

My explores and exploit landscapes and still lifes without following a set formula so her paintings have soul.

On her fine arts path, My’s strong will always helped her study on her own. Her ability to paint blossomed and improved over time. She valued the paintings she collected and learned about art by studying works by modern artists such as Nam Son, Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, Tran Van Can, Luu Van Sin, Nguyen Tu Nghiem and Bui Xuan Phai.

With her deep love and affection for the homeland, My has spent a lot of time to create oil paintings featuring it. She paints historical monuments and beautiful spots with traditional natural scenes.

My tends to explore and exploit landscapes and still-lifes to represent natural scenery and human beings. Sometimes, she uses contrasting colours, but her strokes are still strong. Thanks to this, My seems to escape from the confines of reality to satisfy her strong feelings for colourful natural scenes.

“My draws landscapes and people with real emotion. She doesn’t follow a set formula, so her paintings stay natural, true to life and jubilant with the colour of a soul loving life,” said painter Pham Van Don.

Her paintings May Trang Xu Doai (White clouds in Xu Doai) and Ve Voi Thien Nhien (Coming to nature) use vivid greens for grass and trees and a loud blue for the water to portray scenes from her childhood.

In the paintings Thuy Dinh (Water pavilion of Thay Pagoda) and Chua Thay (Thay Pagoda) viewers can see the changing history, ancient architecture and the beauty that has absorbed the minds of many generations in a variety of colours. The pieces show her deep feelings and affection for the pagoda.

My has also featured Ha Noi in some of her works, such as Hoa Loc Vung (Loc Vung flower), Ben Ho Hoan Kiem (by Hoan Kiem Lake), and Ho Tay (West Lake). In a modern style, she tries to create and find ways to represent things differently to evoke feeling.

My has produced many paintings for annual Ha Noi Fine Arts Association exhibitions. She has also held individual exhibitions and shown special pieces from her modern collection in Viet Nam.

“In 1999, I thought about returning to my native village, Phuc Duc to hold an exhibition about Thay Pagoda. I called it Chua Thay va Phong Canh Con Nguoi Sai Son (Thay Pagoda, landscapes and people in Sai Son). Many people attended, especially farmers,” said My.

Since then, My has held many exhibitions for people in smaller localities and remote areas. Fine arts are not only for the big cities, but villages as well.

“Paintings for me in particular and for Phuc Duc villagers in general are very strange. However, since My’s museum opened, we have had the chance to see outstanding works of art by famous painters. Paintings show us another world, and through them we feel glad and enjoy life,” said Nguyen Thu Thuy, a village resident.

My’s museum doesn’t cut visitors off from fine arts. Her pieces focus on society and universality, which are gradually taking the upper hand in the global sphere. Moreover, her collection helps villagers approach fine art living in particular and a living art culture in general. It is My’s heart and love for the land where she grew up.

She is currently a member of the Ha Noi Fine Arts Association, deputy director of the UNESCO Art and Environment Centre and a member of the Xu Doai Letters and Arts Club.

VietNamNet/VNS

India zoo put its stuffed dead animals on display

Indian zoo to put its stuffed dead animals on display

Mumbai zoo hopes its stuffed exhibits will keep drawing the crowds The only zoo in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) plans to stuff its animals after their deaths and put them on show in a museum, officials say. The move follows a ban by India's central zoo authority on new animals being kept in confined spaces. Mumbai zoo says it is unable to replace animals as they die because existing enclosures for some animals do not conform with anti-cruelty guidelines. Stuffing the animals will at least allow people to see them, the zoo says. Officials plan to set up a taxidermy museum as part of a $100m makeover at the zoo, which occupies 53 acres of land in central Mumbai. Mangal, a 35-year-old Himalayan black bear, was a star attraction at the zoo until he died last week. He has already been stuffed along with a python and a leopard. Renovation plan Zoos across the state of Maharashtra are now sending animal carcasses to a taxidermy centre in Mumbai, the only one of its kind in India. Zoo visitors will still be able to see the lion couple, Maya (left) and Ranga Taxidermy is the ancient art of preserving an animal's skin and skeleton and then stuffing it to make it appear lifelike. The museum is expected to open to the public in two years time. Mumbai zoo director Sanjay Tripathi says stuffing the animals and putting them on display will be educational. "The public will be able to see and appreciate the animals and even study their body structure," he told the BBC's Prachi Pinglay. Dr Tripathi said the zoo would not for now be adding to its existing population of more than 200 mammals, 500 birds and 45 reptiles. "The existing enclosures do not accord to the new guidelines," he said, "and the taxidermy museum is part of the renovation plan. "Once the open spaces surrounded by trenches are created we will be able to get new animals. It could take up to five years." 'Dying art' Taxidermist and veterinarian Santosh Gaikwad - who runs the taxidermy centre in western Mumbai - says it is a multi-disciplinary art involving skills in leather tanning, animal anatomy, sculpting and painting. Preserving an animal by taxidermy takes weeks of painstaking work "It takes about two months to make a trophy [out] of a medium-sized animal like a leopard," he said. "We have received requests from other states like Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh also. It is a dying art and needs to be preserved. Such museums will spread awareness about the animals as well as this art." However, animal rights activists are not so enthusiastic. Campaigners are increasingly against confining wild animals in small spaces They say stuffing animals may increase the illegal trade in animal skins and carcasses. Debi Goenka, an environmentalist who studies taxidermy, says it is an ancient practice that was carried out for scientific studies or to show off hunted animals. "Both these purposes are redundant now. Hunting as a sport is not allowed... so to stuff an animal's body which has anyways lived in captivity is just adding insult to injury," he said. "How would ministers and civil servants like it if they were stuffed instead of the poor animals?"

Vietnamese Art Exhibition to Premiere in Houston -

An exhibition of Vietnamese art, with more than 100 objects never before seen in the U.S., will premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston Sept. 13. It will remain on view through Jan. 3.

The show, called "Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea," includes major loans from Vietnam's leading museums, including objects from the first millennium B.C. through the 17th century that have never before left the country.

The museum describes the show as the first "exhibition in the U.S. to address the historical, geographic, and cultural contexts of pre-colonial Vietnamese art in depth."

The show looks at Vietnam's history as a crossroads for travel and trade in Southeast Asia and beyond. Artifacts include ritual bronzes, fine gold jewelry, terra cotta burial wares, Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, and ornaments made of gold, lapis lazuli and crystal.

The exhibit was co-organized by The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and Asia Society in New York, which worked with nine museums in Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture. The show will travel to New York next year and be on view at Asia Society Feb. 2-May 2, 2010.

What's on Vietnam Dec 15th -21st

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifevn/wo/2008/12/818719/
Ha Noi Opera House
1 Trang Tien St.
- Piano concert by famous Romanian piano trio at 8pm, Dec 15 in occasion of the 90th anniversary of Romanian National Day.

Youth Theatre
11 Ngo Thi Nham St; Tel: 39434673
- A night of contemporary ballet, choreographer Asa Unander Scharin and the dancers of Viet Nam National Opera & Ballet Theatre, at 8pm, Dec 19 & 20.

L'Espace
24 Trang Tien St,. Tel 9362164
- Piano concert by famous Romanian piano trio at 8pm, Dec 16 in occasion of the 90th anniversary of Romanian National Day. Free entrance.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
57B Dinh Tien Hoang St,
Tel: 38220268
Water puppet extracts at 4pm; 5.15pm; 6.30pm; 8pm; 9.15pm. Tickets: VND20,000-40,000.

Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology
Nguyen Van Huyen Rd.,
Tel: 37562193
- Ca Tru performance on the fourth Sun of month.
- Water puppet performance at 10am; 11.30am; 2.30pm; 4pm. Tickets: VND10,000-20,000.

National Circus Theatre
67-69 Tran Nhan Tong St.
Tel: 38220277
- Shows at 10am, 8pm everyday. Tickets: VND40,000-50,000.

Ha Noi Cheo Club
15 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St.
Tel: 39437361
Vietnamese popular opera accompanied by traditional orchestra. Performances on Mon & Fri at 8pm. Ticket price at VND50,000.

Bruce Lee's last home in Hong Kong may be preserved as a museum

The Hong Kong home where legend Bruce Lee spent his final years was Thursday off the market as its wealthy owner considered plans to turn it into a museum to the kung fu legend. ( dpa )


The two-storey house in the city's exclusive Kowloon Tong residential district, was due to be sold by its owner to raise money for earthquake relief in China.


Bids of more than 13 million US dollars were received for the 530-square-metre residence in Cumberland Street before entrepreneur Yu Panglin decided to take it off the market.


The house, most recently used as a short-stay "love hotel", may now be turned into a museum to Lee in response to a long campaign by fans of the star.


"I will consider the views of the community and different parties. I may consider donating the property if the majority thinks we should preserve it," Yu was quoted as saying by Thursday's South China Morning Post.


He added: "Money is not my major concern. I just want to contribute to charity."


The development was hailed as "fantastic news" by Bruce Lee fan club officials in Hong Kong who have campaigned for years for a permanent memorial to the star in his home city.


The government's Tourism Commission said it was already looking at turning the house into a museum and had been studying overseas examples such as the Beatles Story in Liverpool and Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Tennessee.


Lee - star of films such as Fists of Fury and Enter the Dragon - lived with his wife, Linda Lee-Cadwell, in the house, which he affectionately named the Crane's Nest, in the years leading to his death in 1973.


He died mysteriously at the age of 32 at the peak of his stardom at the home of an actress friend in another part of Kowloon Tong.


Although there is a statue to Lee in Hong Kong, officials in the former British colony have been reluctant to commemorate the city's most famous star, apparently wary of his hell-raising reputation.