Veteran photographer Quang Phung has been nominated for the Grand Award
in this year’s Bui Xuan Phai-Love for Hanoi Awards which will honour a
host of individuals and projects making significant contributions to
arts and culture in Hanoi.
The 81-year-old’s nomination
follows a life-long interest in documenting the people and landscapes of
Hanoi through photography, a career which spanned from 1954 until
recently, when his career was cut short due to a stroke.
Phung
was popular with street vendors, homeless people, event drug addicts and
street gangs, and whilst his work documented important historical
milestones, it was also famous for its powerful honesty in portraying
the life and problems of those he encountered.
In the Work
Awards category, nominees also include a collection of some 2,000 photos
of Hanoi by British veteran diplomat John Ramsden, taken during his
term between 1980 and 1983 and documenting his growing fascination with
the country.
An exhibition displaying part of this photo collection is expected to open in Hanoi by the middle of October.
Two other nominees include a Pho (Street) installation exhibition
by Nguyen Ngoc Dan and the Made in Hanoi art exhibition at the Mai
gallery.
While Dan uses his art installations to replicate a
Hanoi street from the past, Made in Hanoi displays paintings by 13
young Hanoian painters who depict impressive views of the city. The
exhibition is set to become an annual exhibition to nurture and
celebrate the talents of artist from different generations.
The
Job Award category also attracted an interesting pool of nominees,
among them historic documents pertaining to the sacrifice of nearly 400
Hanoian soldiers at Chu Tan Kra battlefield, in the Central Highlands
province of Kon Tum during the US war.
Japanese
archaeologist Nishimura Masanari and five elderly men living in the
ancient clay-making Kim Lan Village in Hanoi ’s suburban Gia
Lam district are also among the nominees in the Job Awards category.
Nishimura, who died in an accident on the way to the archaeological
site, spent 12 years building a museum of ancient earthware in the
village. Inaugurated in March 2012, the museum is the first example in
the country of “community archaeology”, in which local people plays a
central role in collecting items and building dossiers.
Management of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel site has also been
nominated in this category, with the site currently undergoing
conservation efforts sponsored by UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust.
Nominees in the Idea Awards category include the draft on the Code of
Behaviours, a digital project creating six-dimensional images of Hanoi
, and an art project by Nguyen Thu Thuy creating murals of Hanoi
during the anti-France war.
This year’s judging panel will
include Professor Phan Huy Le, chairman of the Vietnam History
Association; Ngo Ha Thai, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam News
Agency; Ho Quang Loi, head of the Popularisation Unit of the Hanoi Party
Committee; Bang Viet, chairman of the Hanoi Literature and Arts
Association; Tran Khanh Chuong, chairman of the Vietnam Fine Arts
Association; and architect Doan Duc Thanh.
The awards ceremony will take place on August 29 at the Vietnam News Agency headquarters, 5 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.-VNA