Painter Vu Kim Thu from Ha Noi introduced Viet Nam’s fine arts and her own work at a kickoff event for the Viet Nam culture week in Pretoria, South Africa on March 22.
Held by the Vietnamese Embassy to South Africa, the Sylt Foundation and the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Pretoria, the event was attended by about 200 guests, including foreign diplomats, local artists and students from the University of Pretoria.
In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Le Huy Hoang said he hopes the event, with the participation of painter Vu Kim Thu, will bring Vietnamese people and landscapes closer to the local public.
During the event, Thu shared her thoughts about her work, in which she uses different paper materials, from Viet Nam’s traditional Dzo paper made from the bark of the Rhamnoneuron balansae to Japan’s Washi paper.
The painter and Ambassador Hoang also had a discussion with attendees on Viet Nam’s arts and cultural achievements, contemporary fine arts in connection with traditional styles, and the need for more cooperation between Vietnamese and overseas artists.
Director of the Germany-based Sylt Foundation in South Africa Indra Wussow and Head of the Department of Visual Arts Raimi Bbadamosi spoke highly of the event, expressing their hope that more similar events would be organised in the future to enhance cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries’ peoples.