On April 18th, the Vietnam Day of People with Disabilities, the Hanoi Museum, in collaboration with the Vun Art Cooperative, organized the opening of the painting exhibition "Fabric Scraps", displaying the artworks designed by people of disabilities and disadvantages.Attending the ceremony were: Mr Pham Dinh Phong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage; Assoc. Prof. Dr Do Van Tru - Chairman of The Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnam; Mr Le Thuy Trung - Deputy Director of the Department of Industrial Economy and Services, Ministry of Planning and Investment; Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong - Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts; Ms Tran Thi Van Anh - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and leaders of departments under Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, representatives of central and local museums, Ha Dong district People's Committee, and approximately 40 press agencies attended to report on the event.
Fabric painting is a new art form that requires meticulousness, care, a delicate artistic eye, and the ability to combine many colours. The exhibition introduces nearly 40 paintings adapted from many genres: Vietnamese folk paintings (Hang Trong paintings, Kim Hoang paintings, Dong Ho paintings), portraits of famous people, paintings of famous artists, countryside paintings, and landscape paintings of Vietnam and the world. In addition, the exhibition also introduces application product lines that meet market needs, such as - canvas bags, canvas wallets, T-shirts and everyday items. The creators of the artworks and these products are all craftsmen with disabilities of the Vun Art Cooperative.At the opening ceremony, Ms Tran Thi Van Anh - Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, said: With over 30 people with disabilities over the years, the Vun Art cooperative has created jobs for many disabled and disadvantaged people. The products are made from scraps of silk fabric that cannot be used to make clothes in the silk-weaving village of Van Phuc, Ha Dong. Silk material, bright, long-lasting colours, and silk fabric scraps become a valuable resource for the "special" craftsmen of Vun Art.
Ms Tran Thi Van Anh - Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, spoke at the opening.
"The scraps of fabric are wasted but revived through the hands of the Vun Art craftsmen, coming to life to make the fabric paintings become beautiful works of art", Mr Dang Minh Ve - Deputy Director of the Hanoi Museum, said.
Delegates visiting the exhibition
Besides observing paintings and other artworks, visitors can also participate in the experience of making fabric paintings. With a wide range of topics, the workshop offers many samples of fabric scraps so that participants can produce complete pictures by themselves from scraps of silk prepared by Vun Art. It is a creative experience, raising awareness of the environmental advantage of recycling the rags. More specifically, the disabled people at Vun Art will directly guide participants throughout the experience - helping people change how they look at people with disabilities, appreciate the work's value, and sympathize and share with disabled people to live more humanely.The " Fabric Scraps" exhibition will run until October 2023 at the Hanoi Museum. During this time, there will be many weekend workshops, so visitors can experience painting and making souvenirs with rags.
Hoàng Hải Vân