It is not even the end of the sixth lunar month, but I have already heard elderly men in my neighborhood enthusiastically asking one another how the upcoming Autumn offering ceremony will be organized at the village communal house, and whether the heads of the clans have made plans to meet yet. It may seem strange that amid the bustle of city life, these elderly men are passionately talking about village affairs. The village communal house is not far away either, just a few dozen meters from my house. “The city also began with villages. Preserving the roots of the village means preserving its culture for future generations. You young people should remember that,” they would tell me whenever I asked.

Tran Vinh Thinh, an artist from Hue, has brought his exhibition titled “An autumn that is not far away” to art lovers in Ho Chi Minh City. The exhibition opened on the afternoon of November 3 at Maii Art Space (72/7 Tran Quoc Toan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City).