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| Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh received support from policy credit capital from the early days of starting his career. |
"Open the way"
On the winding afternoon road shaded by pomelo trees of Thuy Bieu land, a credit officer from the City Bank for Social Policies (CSXH) took us to visit Duc Thanh Painting House. Amidst the fresh space of pomelo gardens, Duc Thanh Painting House becomes more attractive with many colorful silk paintings and vividly painted hats. Not admitting that he is a painter, Nguyen Van Thanh modestly said that he did not have a formal education at school so he did not dare to admit that he is a painter, he is just a painter.
Mr. Thanh said: “My family had a difficult time in the past, so after finishing 9th grade, I decided to drop out of school to help my family. At first, I learned many jobs to make a living. However, with a special passion for painting, I worked and learned silk painting from my close brother.”
At the age of 22, Thanh joined the army. After completing his military service, among many paths, he once again turned to painting, studying while working, looking for economic development opportunities; over time, that passion grew more and more. "Painting chose me," Thanh confided.
According to Mr. Thanh, his family was in a difficult situation, and he was the eldest in the family, with two younger siblings still in school age, so the economic burden weighed heavily on his shoulders. At that time, buying quality silk frames and paints was difficult, and without capital, it was considered a "dead end". Luckily, in 2010, he joined the Farmers' Association of the ward and was guided to access loans from the Bank for Social Policies. And, that first loan of 10 million VND was the "lifebuoy" for him to start his business.
With that capital, he invested in simple equipment, set up a small painting workshop right at his house, both making and selling paintings to tourists. Up to now, the young man has gradually built a name for himself. Not stopping at painting and selling paintings, Mr. Thanh soon realized the potential of combining art and tourism . He expanded the space of his painting house into an experience point, working with travel companies, local authorities, and associations to connect tourist tours.
Combining art and experiential travel
“With the idea of building Duc Thanh Painting House, I hope that visitors can visit the process of painting silk, painting on hats, and some other materials and bring those works home as souvenirs or gifts. Visitors can directly observe each stage to create a painting, learn about the meaning of each work and can choose to buy if they like it,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh.
From the soft, delicate brush strokes on silk, the traditional conical hats have gradually conquered customers, especially foreign tourists. Every year, Duc Thanh Painting House welcomes thousands of visitors, including many groups from Europe, Japan, and Korea. Many silk paintings under the Duc Thanh brand have been present in many countries.
According to Mr. Thanh, tourists from each country have a different "taste" in choosing paintings. If French tourists prefer simple, black and white works, tourists from Spain are very fond of elaborate and colorful works... Depending on each customer, the painter will introduce and make appropriate changes in the creative style, meeting the needs of customers. Each painting by Duc Thanh Painter tells a story and from that story helps tourists understand more about the country and people of Hue.
This creativity quickly created a distinct mark for Duc Thanh Painting Studio. The number of international visitors to the painting studio is increasing. Many cultural tours take Duc Thanh Painting Studio on their journey to explore Hue, creating sustainable values in both art and economy. In 2024, Mr. Thanh once again approached the Social Policy Bank to boldly borrow an additional 70 million VND to invest in an additional painting exhibition area combined with a creative space for tourists and expand the workshop to serve art tours.
Up to now, the space of Duc Thanh Painting House has been expanded to more than 150m2, the gallery is arranged into 4 spaces. The two open spaces outside are arranged to display some large-sized works, a space for visitors to experience painting. The two spaces inside are both a place to display smaller-sized products and a space for painting. In addition to silk painting, during off-peak times, Duc Thanh Painting House also accepts contracts to paint on hats to create jobs for the main workers of the facility. Currently, in addition to Mr. Thanh, the facility is creating jobs for 3 workers with an income of 10 million VND/month.
Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/khoi-nghiep/chap-canh-giac-mo-khoi-nghiep-155128.html
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