Fourteen designs of a contest were chosen and then painted along the streets of District 10 in Ho Chi Minh City to spread a message of environmental awareness and deter the posting of advertisements on old walls.

The 3D paintings, painted on the walls of worn-down buildings, were the top submissions to “Khat vong thanh pho” (City’s desire), a wall-painting design competition co-sponsored by the Ho Chi Minh City College Student Recreation Center and the Youth Union of Ward 10, District 10.

The two-month contest announced the 14 winners at a ceremony on October 14.

Painted walls encourage clean city living

Over 100 local youth split between 14 groups were able to transform dilapidated, dirty, and unappealing walls lining streets and alleyways in District 10 in just three days, creating a new selfie hotspot for local residents. 

“Before, the wall’s paint was peeling and advertisements were posted everywhere,” said Nguyen Thi Rop, a resident of an alleyway off Su Van Hanh Street where a massive painting of two rhinos with a globe on their backs now watches over the neighborhood.

 “Thanks to the beautiful painting, the wall has become extremely eye-catching. Hopefully people will stop ruining it with leaflets.”

Nearby , a whale bearing the message “Protect our environment” brightens up an alleyway, alongside a trees, flowers, and other plants to remind local residents of the need for environmental preservation.  

In the alley at 655 Le Hong Phong Street, a mural designed with special paint glows at night.  And it seems the addition of art to the once crumbling walls has had an immediate effect on the local residents. 

 “Before this, the wall was ugly and dilapidated, but thanks to these youngsters’ effort, our neighborhood seems so much more beautiful.” one of the residents said triumphantly, “We are going to do our best to preserve the painting so that everyone can have the chance to enjoy it.” 

Environmental awareness

Tran Dang Thanh Binh, director of the Ward 10 Youth Union, believes the competition was a great opportunity for young, passionate individuals to create and display their work while interacting with others and beautifying the city. 

The competition attracted many professional and amateur artists from both urban and rural areas, while the paints were sponsored by well-known brands, guaranteeing their quality and durability. 

“After pictures of the wall paintings were uploaded on social media, we received requests from other neighborhoods to participate in the next program,” Binh said.  

“I hope in the future we can scale up the program to allow different areas to experience the same change. “

It also seems apparent from the images that they not only have a direct impact on beautifying the city, but also provide encouragement for people to take care of their environment and avoid littering. 

“We started painting the walls with pictures last year and noticed that people stopped posting advertisements immediately after,” he added. 

Tran Thi Kim Oanh, leader of BMT team, one of the competing teams at the competition, was proud of her group’s elephant painting. 

“We are from the Central Highlands so we drew elephants to introduce the culture of our region to others,” she explained. 

“Elephants are also an endangered species that needs to be protected.  I hope that people will not just see the beauty of the painting, but also the importance of protecting the environment for these animals and for ourselves.”

A painting of two trees with human faces was conducted by a group from Hanoi, to address the drawbacks of urbanization.

“Nature provides us with lives so we have to change our habits so as not to destroy the environment,” Do Thi Hong Lien, a representative of the team behind the works, said.

“Urbanization is always followed by environmental problems.  If we do not strongly encourage environmental protection, the consequences are unimaginable.”

Children also showed their concern for the environmental by inundating Khat vong thanh pho with paintings. 

The artists behind the painting

Despite her age, Ho Ngoc Lam, a sixth-grader at Nguyen Van To Junior High School, was able to develop the idea for two rhinos with a globe on their backs as a means of demonstrating the importance of environmental preservation. 

“Rhinos are seriously endangered animals, and where I live there are many who still litter, so I drew this picture hoping people will start taking measures to protect rhinos and the environment around us,” Lam said. 

Ward 10, District 10 is not the only area that has 3D paintings covering walls of old buildings.  Since last summer, authorities around the city have been encouraging activities to cover streets in their area with 3D paintings as a means to beautify the areas, especially narrow alleys that may seem plain. 

On some of the paintings the artists even include gentle written reminders, such as “Together we admire the beautiful scenery so please do not stick any papers. It will upset the artists!”

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