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| Foreign tourists visit Kim Ngan communal house in Hanoi's Old Quarter. (Source: VNA) |
The project is being carried out by Hoan Kiem district People's Committee in collaboration with artists to bring art to exhibitions in Hoan Kiem District.
Hoan Kiem is one of four historical inner-city districts, with typical cultural characteristics of Thang Long. Currently, there are about 60 communal houses in the Hanoi's Old Quarter. Not only is it a place to worship the village's Tutelary God and human gods, most of the communal houses were built to worship the ancestors of craft villages who went to the capital to establish their businesses. For example, Kim Ngan Communal House worships the ancestors of the gold and silver craft; Ha Vi communal house worships the ancestors of the painting profession; and Tu Thi communal house worships the ancestors of embroidery.
Those ancestral communal houses have become common houses, places to connect and gather people of the same clan and hometown, contributing to increasing the cohesion of community relationships. Many relics have gradually been forgotten over the years, lost in the community's memory.
In the past, the communal houses were only open on the full moon day and the first day of every month. However, since the project "Communal Stories in the Street" took place, the communal houses in this project system have been opened every office hour and every day of the week. Tourists, the public or schools can bring students to visit and experience heritage spaces to help the public know more about these heritages.
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| Students of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi) with the exhibition "Communal Stories in the Street". Photo provided by the school. |
More than 10 years ago, Kim Ngan communal house at 42 Hang Bac was one of the few ancestral communal houses in Hanoi city that was renovated and put into use, serving the religious needs of people and visitors. This site also hosted many exchange activities take place, sharing professional experiences, organizing folk cultural and artistic activities, contributing to promoting the tangible and intangible cultural values of the quarter. Dong Lac communal house at 38 Hang Dao is the place where visitors can learn about traditional silk dyeing and weaving.
Currently, Hoan Kiem District and artists have implemented the above activities at seven communal houses, including Nam Huong, Ha Vi, Tu Thi, Trung Yen, Yen Thai, Pha Truc Lam, and Phuc Kien. Nam Huong communal house is the first place to implement these activities. The communal house located on Hang Trong street has become an address to introduce Hang Trong folk paintings and works of artists inspired by Hang Trong folk paintings in many different materials such as lacquer, silk and hand embroidery.
Tu Thi communal house worshiping Embroidery Patriarch Le Cong Hanh comes alive with an exhibition of past and present embroidery. The exhibition is the result of the interactive and creative process of artists and artisans with traditional embroidery. The space of the communal house worshiping the Embroidery Patriarch became a place to introduce artifacts and images about the birth and development of embroidery, traditional embroidery techniques and artistic embroidery works.
Ha Vi Communal House worships the Painting Patriarch Tran Lu. The exhibition at the communal house brings stories of the painting profession, displays fine art lacquer products, and lacquer paintings by young artists combined with a lighting system.
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| Member of Hanoi City Party Committee, Secretary of Hoan Kiem district Party Committee, Chairman of Hoan Kiem district People's Council Vu Dang Dinh and delegates attended the opening of the exhibition at Pha Truc Lam communal house. Source: https://thanhuyhanoi.vn |
Pha Truc Lam Communal House worships the patriarch of the leather and shoe industry. Recently, the communal house has become an art space with a series of works created from the inspiration of leather and footwear craft and ancient shoes.
Trung Yen Communal House has an exhibition displaying a system of painting works covering the walls and illuminated by an additional spotlight system. The works mainly revolve around images of people living around the communal house as well as people in the old quarter.
According to artist Nguyen The Son, lecturer at Vietnam University of Fine Arts, who has pursued public art projects for many years, awakening living spaces, in contemporary society, communal houses have been almost completely forgotten. Projects that bring art into communal houses make people in the neighborhood appreciate them more than the communal houses that were once attached to the spiritual life of the community.
After the communal houses were implemented, the project continued to be implemented at 10 other communal houses in Hoan Kiem district./.