Germany, France and Vietnamese artists join in community project

A resident with a sketch by French comic artists Maxime Péroz at Phúc Tân Forest Park in Hoàn Kiếm District. Photo coutersy of Think Playgrounds

HÀ NỘI - International artists from Germany, France and Việt Nam have displayed their works at Phúc Tân Forest Park in Hoàn Kiếm District.

The display is part of a project jointly organised by the Goethe-Institut Hà Nội, French Institute of Hà Nội and Think Playgrounds for sustainable development of public spaces and urban landscape of Hà Nội through creative uses of recycling and public art.

The artists include Berlin based artists Jöran Mandik and Eliza Chojnacka from the collective Floating Berlin, French comic artists Maxime Péroz, Clément Baloup and urban design expert Sylvie Fanchette and Vietnamese Trần Lương and Phạm Minh Đức. 

The artists use their own art skills to reflect on the ecological narratives of the booming metropolis, as well as the people living on the brink of it. They will host a workshop learning to make space decorations from fabric and indigo dye on October 2 at the park. 

On October 7, an talk will be held at 6.30pm to discuss about community participation in art through the perspective of Vietnamese and German artists at APD Centre for Art Patronage and Development, in Creative Square, No1 Lương Yên Street, Hai Bà Trưng District.

French ambassador Olivier Brochet and German ambassador Helga Margarete Barth (first and second from right) listened to a local authority representative at the tour. Photo Hiếu - Goethe Institute Hà Nội  

A tour through the artworks was held on September 30 with German ambassador to Việt Nam Helga Margarete Barth and the French ambassador to Việt Nam Olivier Brochet.

It is a part of the art tour Turning Waste into Art: Urban Environmental Solutions in Hanoi Through a Creative Lens including a dining table installation, comic sketches and recycled works made from glass bottles.

The ambassadors, local authority representative and the public learned about the efforts of the local community to build a public space with the support of local authorities and the social enterprise Think Playgrounds

They also listened to the artists and experts sharing perspectives on the use of art to raise awareness about local environmental issues through their viewpoints.

This project is supported by the Franco-German Cultural Fund 2024 and has been implemented from September to November 2024.

Think Playgrounds is a social enterprise that aims to raise awareness about the importance of public playgrounds. It has worked on many projects such as recycled playgrounds, community gardens, ecological parks and community artworks. VNS