HANOI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is holding an exhibition of 12 typical genres of Vietnamese folk paintings in the capital city of Hanoi in a bid to preserve this traditional cultural feature.
The exhibition being held at the Hanoi Museum is displaying 200 works of well-known painting genres such as Dong Ho painting, Hang Trong, Kim Hoang, Sinh village, plain and rural worship painting, among others.
The exhibition, which started on Friday, aims at introducing the collections of Vietnamese traditional folk paintings to domestic and foreign visitors, thus contributing to preserving and promoting this traditional cultural facet of the country, the organizers said.
According to Nguyen Tien Da, director of the Hanoi Museum, traditional folk paintings are valuable cultural assets of the country which contain each community's unique cultural characteristics.
"How to combine traditional and modern arts is an issue that needs thorough consideration and investment, in order to nurture young people's awareness about the preservation of their ancestors' cultural features," Da said.
Truong Quoc Binh, former director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, told Xinhua that as the nation's socio-economic situation is shifting, many types of traditional folk paintings are on the edge of disappearing.
The demand for traditional folk paintings has been decreased, which has forced craft villages and artisans to change to other jobs, Binh said.
For example, dating back to the 16th century, Dong Ho paintings were among the "must-have" things during the Lunar New Year Festival, or Tet as it's known locally, for worshiping or decoration purposes.
People displayed Dong Ho folk paintings in their houses throughout the year and replaced them with new ones every Tet festival celebration. But the tradition has faded away with time.
"Before the year of 1945, my whole village had 17 clans engaged in making Dong Ho paintings," Nguyen Dang Che, an artisan from Dong Ho village in Vietnam's northern Bac Ninh province told Xinhua.
"Due to the trend of economic development, Dong Ho painting gradually lost its position. Most families in the village turned to making votive paper to earn their living. Now there are only two clans in Dong Ho village who still follow the tradition of making Dong Ho painting," Che said.
Meanwhile, Kim Hoang painting, which was also a popular item during Tet in Vietnam, can now only be found in museums or fine art galleries.
It is said that a flood in 1915 destroyed almost all the original woodblocks of the Kim Hoang village. Currently, experts are seeking ways to restore this painting genre, which originated in the late 18th century.
"Vietnam has put significant efforts into preserving traditional folk paintings, including building the list of national intangible cultural heritage and restoring and developing traditional craft villages," said Binh. "However, the country is facing numerous difficulties in preservation work to revive traditional craft villages."
"There are difficulties in sourcing materials, product consumption, supporting artisans, as well as passing down the tradition to younger generations," Binh explained.
"It is such a pity that many of Vietnam's traditional folk paintings have disappeared. Young generations should learn to restore and develop the country's traditional paintings," Pham Cong, an 80-year-old resident in Hanoi told Xinhua while visiting the exhibition.
According to Binh, who is also member of the country's National Heritage Council, there should be more coordination among various sectors and agencies in preserving traditional folk arts, including folk paintings.
"We need a strategy for preservation and development, including more education and training in traditional folk arts, consumption support, tax incentives for artisans, and the building of cultural tourism centers to boost tourism as well as international cooperation," Binh said.
"This exhibition is a good way to introduce traditional folk paintings to visitors, especially the painting genres which have almost disappeared," he added.
The exhibition of 12 genres of Vietnamese traditional folk paintings will be open to the public for six months.
