The tour begins with a fascinating introduction at an art cafe and continues to The Fine Arts Museum and several small independent art spaces. This is a unique journey through the history of modern Vietnam told by its artists. Both tours give a deep insight into the development of art in Vietnam as well as giving an overview of the history.
Tours in Ho Chi Minh City are run by Sophie and Stuart, who have been in the arts community since moving to Vietnam in 2009. In Hanoi, the tour is run by Bill Nguyen, a Hanoian artist and curator and Fabiola who is an arts and culture journalist.
Questions answered Sophie, one of our tour guides.:
1. What did you do before arriving in Vietnam?
I worked for five years in development arts, using arts for education and also as a means to change people's way of looking at different cultures.
2. Why did you decide to talk about art?
Vietnam has an extraordinary visual culture. Art is a fascinating language, through which we can really see the relationships between people and their environments. Also, artists see the world differently, so it offers a truly unique perspective on a country with a fascinating but complicated history.
3. What is the difference between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city tour?
The two tours compliment each other and offer insights into the respective art scenes of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Both are the result of extensive on-going research gathering stories and experiences from local artists, curators, historians and arts professionals in both cities. We have designed them so you can take both tours.
4. What are next?
My plan is to turn the story of the tour into a book, it will be a collaboration with several Vietnamese artists of all ages, and it will follow the history using sequential drawing, full page illustrations, photos and designs gathered from a rich visual tapestry of Vietnam.