The Cham Sculpture Museum's New Life

Following the completion of its upgrade and renovation at the end of 2025, the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum will continuously implement experiential, educational, and community-connecting activities.

The "Land of Ao Dai - Tinh Vien" art ao dai fashion show will take place at the end of May 2026 at the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum. Photo: DUONG QUOC MAN

Vibrant heritage space

From May to November 2025, the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum will undergo renovation and upgrading with a total investment of nearly 11.5 billion VND, creating a more spacious appearance and enhancing the visitor experience. The renovated and upgraded garden space will not only change the landscape but also open up many more possibilities for exploitation.

In April 2026, the "Cham Festival - Dance of Love" program, implemented by students ofFPT University Da Nang, offered a new approach to Cham heritage. Here, young people participated in experiential activities, exchanged ideas, and interacted directly with traditional cultural values.

As the instructor guiding the students in the program, Dr. Do Phuong Thao, lecturer at the Faculty of Communication Technology, FPT University Da Nang, recognizes the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum as a suitable location for organizing creative, experiential, and heritage education activities for young people. After renovation, many spaces in the museum are being utilized effectively, creating favorable conditions for interactive and performance-based activities.

Based on the program's effectiveness, Dr. Do Phuong Thao stated that she will continue to encourage students to research and implement projects related to spreading local cultural values, and also proposed that the school cooperate with the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum to organize at least one event each year in the museum's space.

“Besides the available space, museum leaders always support and facilitate students' creative ideas while respecting cultural values ​​and exhibition spaces. This helps create more opportunities for activities connecting young people with heritage to be implemented,” said Dr. Do Phuong Thao.

Notably, the "Ao Dai Land - Tinh Vien" art ao dai fashion show, held at the end of May, was a new step for the museum in socializing its operations and generating additional revenue from its existing resources. Furthermore, the museum regularly changes its seasonal and Tet (Lunar New Year)-themed check-in points, contributing to a more diverse experience for visitors and showcasing the beauty of Vietnamese culture to international friends.

Besides expanding experiential activities, the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum is strengthening connections and cooperation with domestic and international organizations. Recently, on International Museum Day (May 18th), a scientific seminar titled "Heritage Bridge" was held, and a cooperation agreement for the period 2026-2028 was signed between the Cham Sculpture Museum and the French School of Far Eastern Studies (France), aiming to promote research, academic exchange, and the preservation of heritage values.

From now until the end of 2026, the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum has planned many exciting activities to implement. Photo: Provided by the museum.

Putting the public at the center

Researcher Vo Van Thang from the City's Historical Science Association assessed: "Recent activities of the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum demonstrate efforts to innovate in promoting heritage values. The increased application of technology and the organization of experiential activities have made the museum space more attractive to locals and tourists. Through this, the museum is gradually affirming its role as a dynamic cultural institution in the heart of a modern city."

Not stopping at the activities already implemented, the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum is continuing to expand its experiential products and services for visitors. Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang, Director of the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum, shared that in the coming time, the museum will focus on perfecting new experiential products, targeting various groups of the public.

According to the plan, in July 2026, the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum will collaborate with the Lam Dong Museum to organize a thematic exhibition titled "The Imprint of Cham Culture in Lam Dong". The exhibition will not only showcase the cultural and historical values ​​of the Cham community in the Central Highlands region, but also contribute to strengthening the links between museums in research and promoting the value of artifacts.

Tourists experience Cham pottery making in the "Cham Festival - Dance of Love" program, organized by students from FPT University Da Nang. Photo: Provided by the organizers.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang stated that one of the activities expected to further attract visitors is the traditional Cham music and dance performance program, scheduled to be held twice a month, starting in August 2026. Through these performances, tourists will have the opportunity to access the unique intangible cultural values ​​of the Cham community in a more visual and vivid way.

Furthermore, in August-September 2026, the museum will revise and supplement the information panels and artifact annotations to make them more scientific and accessible. In particular, it is planned that in October 2026, the museum will build an exhibition space for the visually impaired. This step clearly demonstrates the museum's commitment to a public-centric approach, expanding access to heritage for all segments of society.

“After completing the renovation, the museum received many collaboration proposals from cultural, educational, and artistic organizations. We see this as an opportunity to expand experiential activities and bring the museum space closer to the public. Currently, the unit is developing a plan to coordinate nighttime activities in the garden area, thereby creating more cultural destinations for locals and tourists,” Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang shared.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/suc-song-moi-cua-bao-tang-dieu-khac-cham-3339256.html