Phung Hung mural street (Photo: Ngoc Anh/VOV)

 

The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature, and Music. Ha Noi got the UNESCO honour in the ‘Design’ category, an opportunity for Ha Noi to create its trademark and promote its cultural creativity to the world.

 

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development in economics, society, culture, and environment. The newest additions bring the network to a total of 246 Creative Cities.

 

There are 140 creative spaces in Viet Nam, 60 of them in Ha Noi, which offer diversified art genres: fine arts, fashion, architecture, cinematography, and street festivals.

 

Bui Hoai Son, Director of the Viet Nam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS), said “The number of 60 creative spaces in Ha Noi, as reported by the British Council, is quite big. Ha Noi has a potential for developing creative spaces thanks to its rich history and culture. The creative spaces are important in making up a creative nation. They make a city worth living in for its art experience and sharing of community values”.

 

Ha Noi has a developed design industry with influences from other cultures. The Thang Long Imperial Citadel, for instance, which was recognized as a world cultural heritage, is an old architectural complex with typical historical, archeological, and cultural values of Ha Noi.

 

Ha Noi has many buildings that combine Western and Oriental architectural styles, indigenous and foreign styles, or classical and contemporary styles, such as the Hanoi Opera House, Long Bien bridge, and Nhat Tan bridge.

 

To Van Dong, Director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said “Ha Noi, Viet Nam’s cultural center, is the venue for numerous world events. The Department organized 160 international cultural events last year and even more this year in Ha Noi, as well as across Viet Nam and abroad. We are working to preserve Hanoi’s tangible and intangible culture.”

 

A number of creative design projects have been launched recently in Ha Noi, including the pedestrian zone around Sword Lake; Heritage Space, which is dedicated to contemporary arts and creativity; and Phung Hung mural street. Projects have been created to inventory and preserve Ha Noi’s intangible cultural heritage.

 

Notably, a project called “Quintessence of the Vietnamese craft village” has encouraged the combining of contemporary creative design with traditional crafts.

 

Ha Thi Vinh, Deputy Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Craft Village Association, said “The project ‘Quintessence of the Vietnamese craft village’ is conducted in Bat Trang pottery village. It provides a place for artisans, artists, and students to meet and make their products. The project features a house exhibiting typical handicraft products of other villages in Hanoi. This model will be replicated in traditional craft villages across Viet Nam.”

 

Ha Noi’s admission to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network helps promotes its cultural creativity and strengthen connectivity with member cities.

 

Source: VOV