On the morning of October 18th, at the Ho Chi Minh City Cadre Academy, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee organized a conference to summarize 50 years of literature and art in Ho Chi Minh City after the reunification of the country (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025). Attending the conference were Central Party Committee Secretary and Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Secretary Tran Luu Quang, along with leaders from various ministries and agencies, city leaders, and prominent artists and writers.
Vividly reflecting the pulse of life.
Over 50 years of construction and development, literature and art in Ho Chi Minh City have always played a pioneering role, accompanying the cause of building, protecting, and developing the city. The city's artists and writers have continuously strived for creativity, leaving behind many works of high ideological and artistic value, contributing to nurturing the spiritual life of the people.
Many literary and artistic works vividly reflect the pulse of life, honor human values, criticize negativity, and contribute to encouraging the city's spirit of innovation. During the integration period, Ho Chi Minh City's literature and art continue to spread creative inspiration; diverse themes such as history, contemporary life, love, family, and youthful aspirations have left a deep mark, contributing to the dissemination of the city's image.
Presenting a report at the conference, Mr. Duong Anh Duc, Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, affirmed that the city always pays attention to and creates favorable conditions to promote the talents of artists and writers. "The city's cultural, literary, and artistic activities are always at the forefront of integration and innovation, while still maintaining national identity and shaping the unique characteristics of Ho Chi Minh City. This is an important foundation, meeting the strategic requirements in building and developing the city's literature and art in the new era."
Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Tran Luu Quang and other delegates visit the Press and Publishing exhibition serving the conference. (Photo: HOANG TRIEU)
To date, the city has nearly 6,000 members belonging to 9 specialized associations. These literary and artistic associations operate in accordance with their principles and objectives, becoming a professional home that unites and brings together intellectuals and artists. The socialization of art has been promoted, creating favorable conditions for the strong development of private theater, film, music , and fine arts, thereby enhancing the enjoyment of the arts by the people.
Along with developing creative arts, Ho Chi Minh City places special emphasis on investing in infrastructure and creative spaces for culture and arts. Large-scale art programs such as the Hozo Music Festival, the River Festival, and the "Colors of Ho Chi Minh City" Festival contribute to spreading the image of a dynamic and creative city. Projects such as the Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra and Opera House, the Phu Tho Circus and Multipurpose Performance Hall, the Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, and the Saigon Riverfront Park have become cultural highlights, creating spaces for connection between artists and the public.
"Entering a new stage of development, Ho Chi Minh City continues to identify literature and art as fields of đặc biệt importance in building human character, building the spiritual foundation of society, and contributing to the sustainable development of the city," Mr. Duong Anh Duc emphasized.
Expanding the creative space
In this new phase, Ho Chi Minh City is entering a trajectory of integrated regional development. The development of literature and art in this new context is not limited to preserving and promoting traditional values, but also involves expanding creative spaces and closely linking them to the cultural industry development strategy. The city recognizes this as an inevitable direction for culture to become both the spiritual foundation and the economic driving force of a modern metropolis.
In that spirit, at the conference, many delegates and artists proposed and suggested policies and strategies for investing in the development of literature and art in the country and the city in the new period.
Mr. Huynh Anh Tuan, Director of IDECAF Theatre, believes that in order for cultural and artistic forms to truly become closer to people's lives, the city needs to focus on investing in infrastructure connecting cultural centers, theaters, museums, cinemas, etc. Doing so will create a "living cultural network," encouraging people, especially young people, to engage with the arts more. Meanwhile, Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc hopes that city leaders will continue to create favorable conditions, provide timely encouragement and motivation so that artists have a workspace, can interact, learn, create, and contribute more to the public.
Speaking at the conference, Central Party Committee Secretary and Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Tran Luu Quang stated that the city places special emphasis on investing in the cultural sector alongside economic development, including the implementation of projects to expand the Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space. During the process of reorganizing state agencies, public cultural facilities are among the top priorities, second only to schools and hospitals.
However, the City Party Secretary noted that along with infrastructure investment, art organizations need to constantly innovate their thinking and expression, inspiring the younger generation to inherit and develop the values that previous generations have cultivated over the past 50 years.
The City Party Secretary suggested that the trend of development cannot stop, and each stage and each generation has different ways of perceiving things. Today's youth may no longer be interested in performances considered old-fashioned, but prefer modern, more accessible forms of expression. Therefore, the city needs to innovate its presentation, for example, by incorporating the zither and other traditional musical instruments into contemporary music. "If young artists can sing along to the music of the zither, then the image of that zither doesn't need promotion, because it itself becomes a bridge between tradition and modernity. Therefore, the city should have a new mindset and a newer approach to difficult and new tasks, so that culture and art truly become a source of inspiration and a driving force for development in the new era," the City Party Secretary emphasized.
People's Artist Dao Ba Son :
Affirming the position of cinema
After 50 years of development, Ho Chi Minh City can proudly boast of having formed a diverse and distinctive literary and artistic scene, vividly reflecting modern urban life while still imbued with the Vietnamese spirit of humanism.
If music is the heartbeat, painting is the colors of emotion, and literature is the memory of the soul, then cinema is the light – a light that never fades on the creative path of artists in Ho Chi Minh City. After 50 years of development, Ho Chi Minh City's cinema has affirmed its position on the regional map. The Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF 2024) is a significant turning point, marking the maturity of the city's film industry.
Singer VO HA TRAM :
We hope for more performance spaces.
For an artist, living and working in a city that is constantly evolving and cherishes culture like Ho Chi Minh City is a blessing. I hope Ho Chi Minh City will have more performance spaces, stages, and music festivals so that young artists have the opportunity to showcase their talents and audiences have more places to enjoy their work.
In addition, I hope there will be more training and talent development programs for young people so that national cultural values can be continued and spread more strongly.
Director and writer Xuan Phuong :
The greatest happiness is being creative and contributing.
Those working in the cultural field should always remember that no matter what position or job they hold, it is all important and meaningful.
I hope that today's generation of artists and writers will continue that spirit, ready to undertake any task that the country and the city need. Because for an artist, the greatest happiness is to create and contribute.
51 collectives and 227 individuals were commended.
At the conference, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports was honored to receive the First-Class Labor Medal awarded by the President of Vietnam for its outstanding achievements in building and developing the city's literature and arts.
On this occasion, 51 organizations - including the Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper - along with 227 individuals were also commended by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for their significant contributions to the development of literature and art in Ho Chi Minh City over the 50 years since the country's reunification.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/khoi-nguon-phat-trien-cong-nghiep-van-hoa-tp-hcm-196251018221931421.htm
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