Blog Author: Mai Nguyễn-Long
See also: https://vietnamvisualarts.com/
NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXTERNAL INFORMATION 2023 GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM
What an incredible and welcome surprise!
Last night -12 October 2023, Kerry Nguyễn-Long was awarded a National Award for External Information by the Government of Vietnam. This is the 9th iteration of the annual award that acknowledges excellent contribution to international understanding of Vietnam, an award assessed across all industry sectors. Kerry received the award within the 2023 arts category for her book Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture (Thế Giới Publishers 2023).
The Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, top government officials and diplomats were present during the two-hours ceremony which included musical performances and singing. Dad – Nguyễn Kim Long, reported “Mum enjoyed it all. And well deserved it too.”
This was an independent project and achieved through decades of often very isolating sheer dedication and determination. I’m so proud of my Mum and Dad too, who worked with Mum as photographer and research assistant.
CAST RMIT MELBOURNE BOOK LAUNCH
CAST RMIT MELBOURNE WELCOMES VIETNAM DESIGNERS & VIETNAM VISUAL ARTS BOOK LAUNCH
26 October 2023 from 12noon to 1:30pm at First Site GalleryBuilding 16 – Storey Hall, 344 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Dear colleagues, I am resharing this news item / invitation from CAST RMIT:
RMIT & VIETNAM
RMIT University has a long-term commitment to Vietnam since establishing two campuses in Saigon South and Hanoi, operating since 2000. RMIT Vietnam offers education in design, communication, fashion, economics, IT and English language and has over 7000 students at the two campuses. The RMIT community is active in the art and design scene, establishing the Vietnam Festival of Creativity and Design (VFCD) in 2019 with the local community to contribute to and stimulate the cultural and creative sector, as aligned with the national objectives for the development of cultural industries. In June 2023, RMIT announced their next phase in their commitment to Vietnam with the Strategic Innovation Fund to invest further in education, research, partnerships and campus infrastructure and the establishment of the RMIT Hanoi Industry and Innovation Hub with key priorities focused on smart and sustainable cities, regional collaboration, emerging technologies and social innovation.
As part of this long-term vision, CAST RMIT invites you to join us for the School of Art welcome for our đây đó (here/there) guests and book launch. Please register your attendance at this link:
ĐÂY-ĐÓ (HERE/THERE)
đây đó (here/there) is a Vietnamese-Australian research project promoting contemporary design practice while sustaining traditional forms of art and craft practice in the wake of rapid development and global challenges in Vietnam and Australia from 2021-3. Continuing this project in Australia, Tom Trandt and Pham Hoang Linh were two of our designer/craftspeople who were mentored by Vietnamese and Australian mentors to develop their designs for international audiences and markets. They will be presenting their designs at First Site Gallery. Becky Lu is one of RMIT Vietnamese staff leading this project. Please join us in welcoming them to Australia.
VIETNAM VISUAL ARTS IN HISTORY RELIGION & CULTURE
As part of this event, we will also be launching the new publication by author Kerry Nguyễn-Long – Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture:
Vietnam has a long and rich visual culture which deserves greater recognition free from dated misunderstandings. In a broad survey this new book Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture significantly revises, updates and expands on the theme introduced in Arts of Việt Nam 1009 – 1945 published in 2013 to present new developments and archaeological finds. It explains Vietnam’s distinctive iconography and inclusive belief systems and how they manifest in the visual arts, its syncretic and pantheistic culture and its place within the larger vibrant visual culture.
The text is amply illustrated with over 300 colour images, many full-page, highlighting architecture, statuary, metalcraft, jade and ivory carving, lacquer craft, furniture, inlay work, woodblock printing, painting, and ceramics across almost a thousand years. Different techniques used by artisans are explained. A short retrospective chapter brings the book to its conclusion.
Art historian Kerry Nguyễn-Long has lived and worked in Asia since the 1970’s. A passionate advocate of Vietnam’s visual arts, since the introduction of the policy of đổi mới in 1986 she has made frequent visits to, as well as long sojourns in, Vietnam to further her research. Her writings on Vietnam have appeared in books, arts magazines, and museum journals. She is an author, co-author, and a contributor to books, and for nearly two decades has been a contributing editor of the Hong Kong-based international magazine Arts of Asia.
For more information and to purchase the book https://vietnamvisualarts.com/
This is a free event, all welcome. There will be light catering and refreshments for attendees to enjoy.
This event is produced in collaboration with CAST – Contemporary Art and Social Transformation, RMIT https://www.rmit.edu.au/…/contemporary-art-and-social…
CAST RMIT International co-ordinator: Dr Tammy Wong Hulbert
Image 1: Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture book cover; Image 2: Tom Trandt; Image 3: Pham Hoang Linh
SNEAK PEAK INSIDE VIETNAM VISUAL ARTS IN HISTORY RELIGION & CULTURE
A selection from hundreds of images presented in the publication Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture from top row, left to right: (1) Acroteria dragon. Terracotta. 11-13 C. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (2) Amitabha Buddha on stepped plinth. Gold lacquered stone. Ngô Xá Pagoda. 11-12 C. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (3) Tazza. Blue-and-white ceramic. 15 C. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (4) Entrance. Phát Diệm Cathedral. 1899. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (5) Gold book. 1806. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (6) Model of Ngọ Môn Gate. Ivory, stone, mother-of-pearl. 19-20 C. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (7) Quan Âm with a Thousand Arms and Eyes. Woodcore lacquer. Bút Tháp Pagoda. 1656. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (8) Entrance gate. Vĩnh Tràng Pagoda. 20th C. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long (9) Book cover. Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture. Pháp Vân. Goddess of Clouds. Woodcore lacquer. Dâu Pagoda. 17 C. Photo Nguyễn Kim Long.
BOOK REVIEW BY Phạm Minh Quân
We are delighted to share Phạm Minh Quân‘s (Deputy Director Institute of Cultural Anthropology) Tạp Chí Mỹ Thuật review of Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture, July-August 2023 issue, No. 367-368 posted online 30/08/2023
Online auto-translations of English to Vietnamese can be misleadingly inaccurate. As such, an English version, kindly translated by Nguyễn Kim Long, is available below. We are able to share this online thanks to the generous permissions of Phạm Minh Quân and Tạp Chí Mỹ Thuật:
Kerry Nguyễn-Long 2023 Vietnam
Thank you, Đào Mai Trang, for this thoughtful conversation with my mum Kerry Nguyễn-Long about Arts of Vietnam and for the lovely layout in the printed version of the weekend magazine of Nhân Dân newspaper! I am fascinated that the online version allows me to elect for the article to be read to me in either a southern or northern voice. Amazing!
“Very happy to see this 15 minute TV program about Mum’s book. Thank you NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TELEVISION team! Thank you Phạm Trần Long and Thế Giới Publishers! Thank you Trần Hậu Yên Thế … and to Triệu Hà My for hanging out all day with us …congrats to Kim and Kerry xx”
Mai
“It was great to see my mum (Kerry) participate in this 31 May 2023 TAASA (The Asian Arts Society of Australia) event. Her book has been a bit of a family affair in that my father (Nguyen Kim Long) is the book’s photographer and he is Kerry’s research assistant. I was especially stoked to see Professor Jing Han attending…and Dong (independent researcher Nguyễn Ngọc Phương Đông) surprised my family. We had just seen him in Hanoi a few weeks prior so were amazed and happy to see him again. I thought it was a very positive event and found all the presentations inspiring. The evening left me feeling buzzed. THANK YOU TAASA.” Mai
https://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/1532879/a-museum-in-your-hands-vietnam-visual-arts-in-history-religion-and-culture.html Lady Borton, “A Museum in Your Hands: Vietnam Visual Arts in History Religion & Culture,” Vietnam News, 8 May 2023.
Kerry Nguyễn-Long with Nguyễn Kim Long 2023 Vietnam