A multisensory exposition in Hanoi and an exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City featuring works by international and Vietnamese artists, both running for weeks, are waiting for visitors to come and explore.

Tra ART is a multisensory exhibition, taking place at the French Cultural Center L’Espace in Hanoi, themed on the ancient Shan Tuyet tea and the diverse ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang.

The precious and rare Shan Tuyet tea, also known as Shan Snow tea, has tender leaves that are likened to snow flowers.

The forest tea grows at an altitude of nearly 1,400 – 2,000 meters above sea level in northern Vietnam, most of whose trees are over 300 years old with huge trunks covering several meters in diameter.

As its name suggests, the multisensory Tra ART uses arts to stimulate all the five senses of visitors.

The artists behind Tra ART is a group who dedicated their efforts to answering a call to preserve these wild tea plants, which are still underappreciated, as well as supporting those ethnic groups and their extraordinary livelihood.

They are 2D and 3D animation artists Nguyen Quynh Phuong and Marcus Bowler, illustrator and cartoonist Gerald Gorridge, sculptor Tran Thu Hang, and photographer and composer-musician Ngo Hong Quang.

The highlights of the expo are seven paintings and sketches of late French cartoonist Gérald Gorridge, a friend and mentor of many generations of Vietnamese cartoonists.

Installation artworks representing Shan Tuyet tea tree roots by sculptor Tran Thu Hang are on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi.

Nguyen Tuong Van, who initiated the exhibition, also contributed a photographic report on the beauty of ancient tea trees and their own identity, and portraits of the people that she met through the trip.

The visitors will feel as if they entered a live film about the world of tea via ten paintings using augmented reality technology. The exhibition room is also filled with the gentle fragrance of the tea.

Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, the second International Artistic Encounters, a joint exhibition featuring 11 Vietnamese and French artists, opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum on Sunday.

The exhibition, beautifully named “La Seine et le Mekong” (Seine River and Mekong River), displays 73 paintings in oil, acrylic, lacquer and mixed media, and 19 sculptures in wood and ceramic, by six Vietnamese artists, two Vietnamese-French artists, and three French artists.

“La Seine et le Mekong” follows its first International Artistic Encounters in Barentin, France in May 2017, which attracted more than 20,000 visitors, featuring Vietnamese artist Luong Luu Bien.

“La Seine et le Mekong” in Ho Chi Minh City will close on June 17, while Tra ART in Hanoi will take place until July 6.

Installation artworks representing Shan Tuyet tea tree roots by sculptor Tran Thu Hang are on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi.

A sketch by late French cartoonist Gérald Gorridge is on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi.

A photo in Nguyen Tuong Van’s photographic report on the beauty of ancient Shan Tuyet tea plants and the diverse ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi

A photo in Nguyen Tuong Van’s photographic report on the beauty of ancient Shan Tuyet tea plants and the diverse ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi.

A photo in Nguyen Tuong Van’s photographic report on the beauty of ancient Shan Tuyet tea plants and the diverse ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi

A photo in Nguyen Tuong Van’s photographic report on the beauty of ancient Shan Tuyet tea plants and the diverse ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi

A photo in Nguyen Tuong Van’s photographic report on the beauty of ancient Shan Tuyet tea plants and the diverse ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang on display at the Tra ART exhibition in Hanoi

Paintings and sculptures are seen at the “La Seine et le Mekong” exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City in this photo uploaded on the event organizer's website.

Paintings and sculptures are seen at the “La Seine et le Mekong” exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City in this photo uploaded on the event organizer's website.

Paintings and sculptures are seen at the “La Seine et le Mekong” exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City in this photo uploaded on the event organizer's website.

Paintings and sculptures are seen at the “La Seine et le Mekong” exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City in this photo uploaded on the event organizer's website.

Paintings and sculptures are seen at the “La Seine et le Mekong” exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City in this photo uploaded on the event organizer's website.

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