Vietnam to launch biggest post-war art exhibition
HO CHI MINH CITY - Vietnam's southern metropolis will launch the two-year art project "Saigon Open City" later this month, bringing works from regional and international artists.
Billed as post-war Vietnam's largest arts event, it will showcase works from Japanese-American Yoko Ono, the widow of murdered Beatle John Lennon, as well as major artists from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
More than 40 contemporary artists will exhibit from November 26 in venues including the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, the War Remnants Museum, the Museum of Southern Women and the Saigon Open City Studio Space.
"For people from outside Vietnam, Saigon Open City will be an introduction to local art, a platform to show that it is much more than lacquer, silk or army paintings," said Thai artist-curator Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Three major exhibitions over two years -- themed Liberation, Unification and (Re)construction -- will also include film screenings, artists' studio visits and workshops, and talks by artists and curators, say organisers.
Sponsors of the event (www.saigonopencity.org) include the Ford Foundation, the Vietnam Foundation for the Arts, the Goethe Institut, Vietnam-Denmark Cultural Fund, British Council and the French Embassy.
Agence France Presse - November 2, 2006.
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