Keeping the flame of traditional crafts alive in the digital age.

The photo exhibition "Traditional Crafts in the Digital Age (Keeping the Flame of Traditional Crafts Alive in the Digital Age)" at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street from May 13 to 17, honors and promotes the preservation and development of traditional Vietnamese crafts, contributing to fostering pride and awareness of cultural heritage preservation among the younger generation in the new era of development.

Students receive assistance from artisan Nguyen Thanh Nhan (second from the right) in taking a photo reportage of a fine art wood workshop in Trang Bom at the end of April 2026. Photo: Ngoc Mai

This is the first time that photographic works by students majoring in multimedia communication from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) have been exhibited at a model public cultural space such as Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, serving a large audience of city residents and international tourists.

"Visual stories"

A cat lies beside a bamboo screen. A young woman, her clothes stained with paint, sits painting a piggy bank. A couple strains, shoulder to shoulder, carrying a large earthenware pot. A carpenter silently carves wooden clogs, "cherishing Vietnamese feet." Elderly women rhythmically weave baskets, make conical hats, and glaze and paint terracotta, creating familiar everyday items, from household goods to the charming "poetic conical hat" that protects from the sun and rain...

The "visual stories" from within traditional craft villages, workshops, and household goods production facilities are vividly reflected through the youthful observational eyes and enthusiastic lenses of today's multimedia communication students. The "Traditional Crafts in Digital Rhythm" photo exhibition shows that in an era shaped by technology, digital life, and algorithms, Vietnamese traditional craft villages still exist as enduring witnesses that have stood the test of time for decades, even centuries…

In late April 2026, a group of students including Khanh Ngan, Anh Nguyet, Ha My, and Ngoc Thuy visited Trang Bom wood carving village ( Dong Nai city) and met artisan Nguyen Thanh Nhan, who has been practicing traditional woodworking and handicrafts for 37 years. Besides taking photos, the students also heard Mr. Thanh Nhan share the woodworking process and the story of how he skillfully transformed scraps of wood into exquisite, unique, and creative toy models and gifts, creating high-value OCOP (One Commune One Product) export products.