Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition, the exhibition present Vietnam’s best oil paintings which have been selected from more than 1,000 paintings submitted by nearly 550 artists nationwide.

Artist Hoang Duc Toan, Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition said “In Vietnam, together with other painting materials, such as lacquer and silk, oil on canvas is a part of modern fine arts. Although an oil painting wasn’t introduced in the country until the beginning of the last century, the material was soon accepted by Vietnamese painters and now more and more painters choose this kind of material for their creativity.”

He also said the national oil painting exhibition 2008 – the biggest of its kind- will give the fine arts circle as well as the public a general view about the development of oil painting in Vietnam in recent years.”

Evaluating the paintings sent to the exhibition this year, painter Vi Kien Thanh, member of the exhibition’s art council said most of the entries are contemporary paintings, reflecting aspect of social life. Particularly paintings by young artists show their ability to keep pace with the flow of history of modern arts.

A seminar discussing the development of oil painting in Vietnamese fine arts and the role of young artists will also be held on November 14, 2008.

The exhibition will run through November 16, 2008.

National exhibitions on lacquer paintings and silk paintings were also held by the Fine Arts Department in 2006 and 2007.

Throughout his study in Netherlands, Wessel Huisman (1954) was fascinated by the working of light. After years of artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Arnhem, he saw himself confronted with a very simple but crucial question: how can I apply my paint in a way that – taking into account all the possibilities and impossibilities of the material – light becomes paint, and vice versa, paint becomes light? For the last two decades, Wessel Huisman has used almost only black and white paint to create “his” light.
His Vietnam exhibition, which is based on photos of city views, panorama’s and street images taken during earlier travel throughout the country, forms part of a project financed by the Culture and Development programme of the Netherlands and organized with the co-operation from two well-known Fine Arts Universities in Vietnam.

His paintings have been on display in Ho Chi Minh City for the last two weeks, where he received many positive critiques. In addition, he has lectures and master classes for teachers and students at the Fine Arts Universities in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

The exhibition will last until 5 December, 2008 at 42 Yet Kieu Street.

Most seagoing ships docking at Chan May Port are luxury liners. The largest ship is the Queen Elizabeth II, 297 m long, which brought nearly 2,000 foreign tourists from many countries in the world to the province.

The Queen Elizabeth II is a floating five-star hotel, offering excellent facilities such as restaurant, bar, tea-drinking room, theatre, cinema, swimming pool, golf course and shopping areas.

In addition, the ship Rhapsody of the Seas of the US Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines carried 2,000 foreign tourists to visit Thua Thien-Hue through Chan May Port.

Foreign visitors enjoyed sightseeing in Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An.

According to Nguyen Huu Tho, director of Chan May Port Company Limited, the number of sea travelers to Hue is increasing, mostly from high-end tour groups.

Chan May Port is investing in infrastructure and improving the quality of services to meet the needs of the increasing number of tourists.

One drum is almost intact and its surface is decorated with a sun and six sunbeams in the middle and four fogs with their heads turning in a clockwise direction.

The other drum has lost the lower part and its surface has a hole in the middle. The four fogs on the surface, meanwhile, look to the anticlockwise direction.

These two ancient drums are on display at the Tay Giang District’s museum.