Vietnam will organize an art fair for the first time next month in a bid to better tap into the local art arena and arouse public interest.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said Thursday on its website that the Hanoi Art Fair will run from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm every day between December 5 and 28 at Cho Hang Da Center in Hoan Kiem District.

The fair will feature paintings, sculptures, installation works, and handicrafts created by over 50 artists.

Their artworks will be arranged into several art rooms in different styles.

The event is an initiative by a group of young Vietnamese artists including Trieu Long, Tran Thuc, Doan Xuan Tung, and Tran Dan Tu, who designed it based on successful models of art fairs from artistically developed countries like Singapore and South Korea.

The fair will also offer art lovers from different walks of life and age brackets opportunities to admire and purchase the artworks, join exchanges with the artists, and see for themselves how the works are created.

Local and expat experts have observed that the Vietnamese art market remains stagnant and lacks appeal to the general public.

A Singaporean art collector in Ho Chi Minh City, who wished to remain anonymous, said in an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in September that Vietnam is still lacking in a professional art market.

In other countries, the art market is a systematic, professionally-trained combination of artists, galleries, curators, auction companies, and customers, which helps decide the prices of paintings.

Art buyers in these countries consider collecting art an investment, and the artwork can be traded or mortgaged.

Meanwhile, curators and gallery owners in Vietnam still lack professional training, while most local art buyers are amateurs and regard art collecting as a hobby only, the Singaporean collector said.

He also pointed out that due to the global economic crisis more people have chosen to buy paintings as a long-term investment instead of bank savings.

The Singaporean collector added that a lack of creativity among Vietnamese artists and the prevalence of fake paintings also deter potential foreign art buyers.

He added that the art scenes in such countries as China, Indonesia, and Singapore thrive thanks partly to their governments’ macro-policies, long-term investment, and public interest, which Vietnamese art deserves as well.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!