It takes an artist one to several days to complete a single ao-dai design. Each hand-painted piece costs from a few hundred thousand to several million VND.

The care that Nguyen Phan’s children take of his father’s art legacy is rare and admirable. For a long time, they have been preserving his father’s paintings and sculptures, searching for his missing ones, and making them a family’s legacy to pass to their younger generations, including documents and records of his monuments and public green spaces.

After its preliminary round, the 2026 Children’s painting contest based on books, themed ‘Drawing the Future with Books’, attracted over 350 paintings submitted by students aged 6 to 15 from across Hue City. Organized by Hue City Library, the contest selected 50 works from the entries for the final round, which was held on August 14.

After nearly two decades of practicing art, Mr. Nguyen Van He has found himself returning to one question: How can memories be transformed into hope? The Hue-born artist has “distilled” his answer into ‘Folding a Sky’, an exhibition he painstakingly brought from Kim Son Hill to Ho Chi Minh City to present to the public in mid-July.

On the afternoon of August 9th, at Lieu Quan Hue Buddhist Cultural Centre, Hue Union of Literature and Arts Associations, in collaboration with Lieu Quan Hue Buddhist Cultural Centre and the family of Nguyen Phan, a late painter, opened the exhibition ‘Nguyen Phan: Echoes of Returning Home’.

Once lost, Kim Hoang folk paintings are gradually making a comeback thanks to the effort of artisan Nguyen Thi Binh. Recently, those paintings have been exhibited and introduced to the public in Hue.

From eggshell fragments, artisans create lacquer artworks with exquisite beauty. Today, the eggshell inlay technique is also being applied to a range of creative handicraft products, and is reaching closer to young people through hands-on workshops.

The medium of watercolor may appear delicate, yet in the hands of skilled painters, it becomes a powerful means of expression. At the exhibition “There Is… a River”, visitors can experience both the talent of the painters and the distinctive allure of a medium known for its transparency, lightness, and poetic charm.

Painter Mai Chau and the late painter Than Van Huy are two prominent figures in Hue's fine arts scene, leaving behind a legacy of works deeply imbued with Zen philosophy and a profound love for their homeland, Buddhism, and humanity. Their paintings possess a compelling depth, prompting viewers to slow down, reflect, and find a sense of serenity amidst life.

It had been a very long time before the elderly painter Tran Van Mang, from the old quarter of Bao Vinh, made a “comeback.” His paintings are much like his personality: strong, decisive, yet soft and full of emotion.

The exhibition “There is … a river” offers special emotions through the seemingly delicate yet endlessly expressive medium of watercolor painting.

Participants not only learn about the craft but also create their own finished products. Through such hands-on experiences, folk paintings are brought closer to everyday life.

40 artists, including lecturers and students from the University of Arts, the University of Sciences (Hue University), along with other painters and architects, participated in a creative program titled Sketching French Architectural Heritage and Cultural-Historical Relics in Hue.

The painting street during the Hue Festival was initiated in 2010 and has now become an indispensable playground for artists in a city with a rich culture like the Ancient Capital. This is also an interesting highlight for the community during Hue Festival.

The stunningly beautiful carved images on Cuu Dinh (Nine Dynastic Urns) inside Hue Imperial City have become even more fascinating and unique as they have been transformed into wood-carved paintings by a group of experts and artists.