Exhibition relives early-20th-century Hanoi streets with peddlers and their cries
Monday, September 16, 2019, 15:07 GMT+7
A month-long exhibition in Hanoi is visually and audibly reminding visitors of how streets vendors and their cries in the Vietnamese capital were like several decades ago.
The exhibition, “Streets vendors and street cries of Hanoi,” was kicked off at the Institut Français de Hanoi – L’Espace on Friday and will run until October 31.
The exhibition features a collection of sketches, drawings and watercolor paintings created by a teacher and 15 of his students at the erstwhile Indochina College of Fine Arts, a prestigious art school in the country in the 20th century.
Several of these students, including late Vietnamese artists Le Pho and To Ngoc Van, later rose to stardom for their remarkable works acclaimed in Vietnam and abroad since then until today.
The famous art school is now known as Vietnam University of Fine Arts.
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| A bike of a junk dealer is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
Through their paintings, the artists depicted the daily activities of street vendors, who “criss-crossed the streets of the capital city, beginning their day from dawn, carrying on their shoulders a variety of fruits and vegetables, sweets and dishes to offer,” according to L’Espace.
But the highlight of the exhibition is photographs of the same time period collected by École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), an associated college dedicated to the study of Asian societies founded in Hanoi in 1990.
Based on creative ideas from young, talented photographers Duy Phuong, the pictures are installed in light boxes, projections, and installations with the support of audio clips of street cries recreated and recorded by artist Dam Quang Minh and the Ancient Music Group of Tonkin.
Especially, visitors are encouraged to walk in on the central piece of the exhibition - a tempered glass bridge, under the surface of which are 27 black and white photos capturing old-fashioned markets in Hanoi from 1920 to 1950.
The admission-free exhibition welcomes visitors from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm every day.
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| A photo capturing street vendors in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi in 1955 is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing a street vendor in Hanoi in the early 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing street vendors in Hanoi in the early 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing street vendors in Hanoi in the early 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing street vendors in Hanoi in the early 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing street vendors in Hanoi in 1922 is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing a bamboo craft shop in Hanoi in the early 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting a street vendor in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing a market at Bat Trang Village in Hanoi in the early 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing a market in Hanoi in 1939 is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A photo capturing a flower market in Hanoi on Vietnam's Lunar New Year holiday in 1955 is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting old street vendors in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting old street vendors in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting an old street vendor in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting an old street vendor in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting an old street vendor in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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| A painting depicting an old street vendor in Hanoi in 20th century is displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi. Photo: Thien Dieu / Tuoi Tre |
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