Gradually shaping Vietnam's first "creative district"

Based on heritage, especially the architectural heritage of the old quarter, old streets and existing cultural spaces, Hoan Kiem district ( Hanoi ) is turning relics into creative spaces, aiming to become the first "creative district" in Vietnam.

Exhibition of Hang Trong folk paintings at Nam Huong communal house. Photo: Khac Hieu

In the last days of the Year of the Dragon, the Cultural and Art Center No. 22 Hang Buom Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) became a space to introduce works of narcissus as well as exchanges of narcissus lovers in the city. In the heritage space, dozens of bowls of narcissus flowers showed off their beauty to "welcome Tet" early. Along with that, beautiful pictures of narcissus flowers were also displayed. The narcissus bowls had the opportunity to "show off" their "five-perfect" beauty, from flowers, leaves, shape, roots to elegant scent, with many different appearances. There were even narcissus bowls created in the shape of funny animals.

Visiting the narcissus flower exhibition, young man Nguyen Huu Hung (Nguyen Van Cu street, Long Bien district) shared: “I have heard that the hobby of collecting narcissus flowers was once lost, and has only recently been revived. I always thought it would be difficult to have the opportunity to admire beautiful narcissus bowls, but unexpectedly the exhibition helped me see with my own eyes the elaborate works of the artisans. Many young people also participated in carving and created beautiful works. I hope that this hobby will continue to revive and spread the culture of the people of Trang An.”

The Digital Cultural and Art Center at 22 Hang Buom Street was formerly the Cantonese Assembly Hall - a place for community activities and trading of the Chinese in Guangdong in Hanoi. After historical changes, this space was once used as a school. In an effort to restore cultural heritages in the area, Hoan Kiem District has invested in renovating and embellishing the Cantonese Assembly Hall relic. After being put into operation since the end of 2021, the relic has a new name: Digital Cultural and Art Center at 22 Hang Buom Street. With an area of ​​up to 1,800m2, including many different spaces, the Digital Cultural and Art Center at 22 Hang Buom Street has become an ideal place for artistic activities. In 2022, the Center will play the role of the main venue for a series of unique contemporary art exhibitions exploiting materials from heritage and history by individuals and groups of contemporary artists. In 2024, this will be the place where dozens of exhibitions, displays, talks, and art exchanges will take place, the latest of which is an exhibition on narcissus flowers organized by the Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter Management Board in collaboration with the Hanoi Narcissus Association.

With an area of ​​only 5.1km2, Hoan Kiem district owns up to 190 relics of all kinds. Being the only district of the capital with both the old quarter and the old town (also known as the French quarter) - a heritage marking the stages of formation and development of Hanoi - Hoan Kiem also owns a massive system of architectural heritage, including: Vietnamese townhouse architecture; architecture mixed with Chinese culture and Indochinese architectural works blending Eastern and Western cultures... Among them, there are many ancient communal houses, which in the past were not only places to worship Thanh Hoang but also spaces for community activities. These are Kim Ngan communal house (Hang Bac street) worshiping the founder of Bach Nghe, Pha Truc Lam communal house (Hang Hanh street) worshiping the founder of the leather and footwear industry, Tu Thi communal house (Yen Thai street) worshiping the founder of the embroidery industry, Ha Vi communal house (Hang Hom street) worshiping the founder of the painting industry, Trung Yen communal house located in Trung Yen alley...

Hanoi's joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network has created a new driving force for Hoan Kiem to "awaken" and spread traditional cultural values ​​​​adapting to contemporary life, attracting tourists . Along with the process of investing in and restoring relics, Hoan Kiem district has implemented many cultural and creative activities in the relics' space. Kim Ngan Communal House is a pioneering address with many activities of displaying, exhibiting, introducing art, and interacting between artists, artisans and the community. But the most obvious mark of its transformation into a creative space is Nam Huong Communal House (Hang Trong Street). This place has become an address to revive the vitality of Hang Trong folk paintings. Right on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2021, with the project "From tradition to tradition", the communal house has become a space to introduce lacquer and silk paintings inspired by traditional materials. The communal house is located on the street with Hang Trong paintings, becoming a place for interaction between artisans of this famous folk painting genre and the younger generation of artists to create contemporary works using folk materials. After that, Hang Trong folk paintings inspired new creations using gold-plated paintings.

Hanoi Old Quarter is the core of ancient Thang Long culture. Here, every few hundred steps, people will encounter a relic. But the development of the city has caused many relics to gradually disappear behind layers of houses. Sometimes, you have to go into deep alleys to find the carvings and moss-covered tiled roofs. Many relics "sleep" with the years, or are little known. Following Nam Huong communal house, many relics in Hoan Kiem district also "awaken" in a strange way through the project "Story of communal houses in the city", with a series of activities to turn relics into creative spaces.

Tu Thi Communal House is nestled in a very small street in Hang Gai Ward - Yen Thai Street. In the past, the people of Quat Dong village went to the capital to do embroidery and established Tu Thi Communal House to worship the embroidery founder Le Cong Hanh (17th century). The communal house was not known to many people, but with the project "Communal House Stories in the City", the artists made the communal house come alive with an exhibition introducing the embroidery profession of the past and present. In late 2024 - early 2025, Tu Thi Communal House became the place where embroidery artist Pham Ngoc Tram organized a creative residency and opened a workshop. Here, artist Pham Ngoc Tram spent a lot of time introducing Indochina embroidery - a traditional embroidery art in the early years of exchange with Western culture.

Another special case is Pha Truc Lam communal house. The leather and shoe industry seems to have little to do with art, but recently, the communal house worshiping the founder of the leather and shoe industry on Hang Hanh Street has become an art space with a series of artworks inspired by the leather and shoe industry and shoes. The communal house is located on a small street, surrounded by many shops and restaurants, and has suddenly become an art destination that many people are interested in. "Story of Communal House in the Street" is not simply bringing exhibitions to relics, participating in the project, artists learn about relics and the craft street to inspire creativity.

New creations with traditional inheritance help old stories to be closer to modern life. After Ha Vi communal house, Tu Thi communal house, Nam Huong communal house..., the process of interaction and creativity from tradition continues to be deployed to a series of other relics. Along with the system of cultural institutions, public spaces, art galleries, fashion brands... in operation, the relics transformed into creative spaces are shaping the first "creative district" of Hanoi.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/dan-dinh-hinh-quan-sang-tao-dau-tien-cua-viet-nam-692312.html