Scenery, culture, and heritage from all over the country “converge” in Hue

A photographic work titled “Setting sail in the sunset”, by Do Van Thuc (Kien Giang)

The 2024 Vietnam Art Photography Competition and Exhibition, jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People's Committee of Hanoi City, and the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province, was recently showcased to the public in Hue on the afternoon of October 25 at 15 Le Loi Street (Hue City).

Attending the event were Mr. Ma The Anh, Director of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition (the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), and leaders of departments and branches of Thua Thien Hue Province, along with a large number of artists, photographers, visitors, and local residents.

In this competition, the Organizing Committee, in collaboration with the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province, organized a photography creation and exchange event for artists in the province from May 11 to 16, 2024. The participating photographers captured beautiful images and moments of the landscape, traditional cultural heritage, land, life, and people of Hue through their lenses, with the creativity, passion, a wide range of emotions, experiences, and deep love for the country and homeland.

According to assessment, many high-quality photographs, both in terms of ideas and artistic value, were created during this event. These photographic art works contribute to preserving and promoting the value of Vietnam's cultural heritage in general, and Hue's cultural heritage in particular. They also reflect a sense of pride in the unique cultural identity, bearing the typical characteristics of the land, creating a connection and spreading between the art of photography and the culture of the Ancient Capital.

After more than 3 months of launching the call for entries, the Organizing Committee has received a total of 9,500 submissions (8,873 in the realistic photography category and 627 in the conceptual photography category), by 1,373 photographers from 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

The Art Council, established by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, comprising reputable photographers, has conducted a rigorous and impartial selection process. As a result, 250 photographic works (200 photographic works in the realistic photography category, and 50 photographic works in the conceptual photography category) from 194 photographers have been chosen for the exhibition. Among these, 33 outstanding photographic works have been awarded prizes (27 photographic works for the realistic photography category, and 6 photographic works for the conceptual photography category), including 3 Gold Medals, 6 Silver Medals (one of which is a set of photos about Hue by photographer Le Dinh Hoang), 8 Bronze Medals, and 15 Encouragement Awards (one of which is a set of photos about Hue by photographer Le Tan Thanh). Additionally, a photographic work was awarded a prize by the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province for its excellence in portraying Hue.

The Organizing Committee awarded prizes to the winners

According to the Organizing Committee, these are the dedicated works, the creative artistic achievements of the authors over the past 2 years, reflecting their emotions as well as the awareness and thoughts of the artists on the reality of life. In the realistic photography category, the image of Vietnam in the process of development and integration appears via authentic, vivid, and rich camera angles. In the conceptual photography category, the authors have invested, explored, and achieved initial success in the field of conceptual photography, contributing to enriching the photographic works that suit new trends.

The 2024 Vietnam Art Photography Competition and Exhibition marks a significant increase in the photo series genre. This indicates that a portion of artists have begun to focus on “longer-term” works, seeking greater challenges and experimentation in “telling stories” through photo series.

The competition serves as an opportunity to gather the creative forces nationwide, summarize and evaluate the artistic achievements of Vietnamese photography, and introduce outstanding photographic art works by Vietnamese photographers to both domestic and international audiences. Through this, it encourages them to create more new works of high artistic and content value, serving the cultural and spiritual life of the people and contributing to introducing and promoting the image of Vietnam and its people.

The exhibition will continue until November 3. After the exhibition, all works will be handed over to Thua Thien Hue Provincial Department of Culture and Sports to be displayed at cultural events and festivals in the area.

Let's take a look at the photographic art works created by artists, being displayed at the exhibition: