When colors tell stories of Hanoi streets

Amidst the bustling atmosphere of the Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025, the exhibition "Thanh Tan Hanoi" appeared, opening up a peaceful space, where the colors and memories of the artists blend together to tell stories about Hanoi in a way that is both familiar and new. Each painting, each color block is like each artist's own perspective on the capital. The streets of Hanoi appear before the eyes of visitors, sometimes brilliant, sometimes quiet.

The work “Ly Dao Thanh Street” by artist Minh Dam seems to lead viewers to visit an old street. The color streaks in the painting seem to spread out like the author’s overflowing memories when remembering this place. The treetops are covered in dark green, the walls have turned yellow and brown over the years, the thin lines of the balcony and windows. The Cub motorbike in the corner of the painting evokes a sense of peace, a bit of contemplation.

Continuing the tour of the old town through paintings, author Nguyen Hai Anh opens up to the eyes of visitors to Ta Hien Street. In his work, he does not depict the famous Ta Hien Street at night with its hustle and bustle, but rather a Ta Hien Street in the early morning with its inherent tranquility. The light filtering through the roofs, the remaining mist, and the soft shadows on the street are all delicately handled.

Author Nguyen Hai Anh shared: “When the morning light gradually opens, Ta Hien returns to its quiet old town appearance, where the pace of life is much slower and more peaceful than the usual hustle and bustle. I want to introduce to visitors the image of Ta Hien Street that still retains the peacefulness and depth of the space stained by time.”

Visitors to the exhibition "New Hanoi".

In another dimension, the wood carvings of the Temple of Literature by artist Tuyen Nguyen bring a sense of serenity. Without the need for color, just with strong carvings and contrasts of light and dark on the wood surface, the artist has created images of living heritage, including: Khue Van Cac, doctoral stele and the extremely ancient and majestic Drum Tower. Standing in front of the wood paintings, viewers seem to hear the dry, sharp sound of chiseling, feeling the heaviness of time.

Ms. Nguyen Hong Loan (born in 1960, residing in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi) expressed: “The works have shown me the very unique beauty of Hanoi, and at the same time showed the deep love of each artist for this land. I am really touched and happy to see that art about Hanoi can become an important bridge, contributing to promoting tourism and bringing the image of the capital in particular, and Vietnam in general, closer to international friends”.

Throughout the exhibition space is a richness of painting language, from free-flowing watercolors, classic woodcuts, deep oil paintings or brilliant acrylics. Despite the diversity of materials, viewers still recognize the common point in the creative spirit that youthfulness goes hand in hand with contemplation, and love for Hanoi is expressed in many ways, but always sincerely.

Touch the art, live with the heritage

In addition to the exhibition, the creative workshop series “Touching art, living with heritage” attracts a large number of visitors thanks to its new approach, bringing art closer to life. Here, visitors can explore , create and connect with traditional cultural values.

With the activity “Drawing landscapes”, visitors will experience the traditional technique of printing letters by wood carving on Do paper, a printing method with a long history in Vietnamese culture. Participants will personally apply ink to wooden blocks with pre-carved letters, place the thin Do paper on the carving surface and use tools to rub the ink evenly.

Le Hoang Mai (born in 2002, a student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) shared: “I am very excited to see each letter printed clearly and sharply. The sheets of Do paper with good absorbency and characteristic ivory white color give the print a classic look, along with the black ink letters reminding me of old books or traditional folk paintings.”

The workshop area attracted a large number of participants.

Not only experiencing traditional heritages, the activity “Assembling ideas - printing colors” also attracts a large number of tourists. From lego blocks of different shapes, sizes and colors, tourists join in assembling them into small layouts evoking symbols of Hanoi such as Temple of Literature, Turtle Tower or Van Lake. When the layout is completed, the lego pieces are covered with ink and printed on paper, creating unique pictures with clear graphic style.

Stacked lego blocks, seemingly simple, when transferred to paper become deep blocks. Each participant can create their own version of “Hanoi heritage”, full of improvisation but still recognizing the familiar lines of the Capital.

Finished products of the activity "Matching ideas - printing in color".

The exhibition thus becomes a space of hope, where viewers can find a reason to love, appreciate and think about their responsibility towards the thousand-year-old cultural heritage. Mr. Le Xuan Kieu, Director of the Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, shared: “In the era we are entering a new era, we need to have changes based on tradition. Our goal is to build Ho Van into a cultural center of the capital, where visitors can experience unique ecological, cultural and performing arts spaces, an increasingly attractive destination of Hanoi. In the coming time, Ho Van space will continue to welcome many young people, artists and creative groups to organize artistic activities, contributing to bringing new vitality to the heritage”./.


    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/ruc-ro-sac-mau-ha-noi-1012125