The event organised for the benefit of Agent Orange victims by Vinaphunu – a popular club for Vietnamese women in Berlin – features 60 works of calligraphy on paper and bamboo.

The organisers report most of the works have been sold, for prices ranging from USD7 to USD140 each.

“For Vietnamese, the Lunar New Year includes peach blossoms, banh chung (glutinous rice cake filled with green bean and pork) and thu phap (calligraphy)” says Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, head of the Vinaphunu.

A specialist in thu phap, Mrs. Thu believes the art was popular hundreds of years ago and is still evident in Vietnamese spirit and mind.

Mrs. Thu and her daughter collected the thu phap works by artisans in Hanoi and HCMC during their visit to Vietnam last year.

Visitors will be able to learn more about Vietnam and its people through such exhibitions, she says.

Mrs. Thu and her staff also worked hard to launch a music and dance programme featuring both overseas Vietnamese and German performers on the event’s opening day last week.

Established in 1991 in Berlin, Vinaphunu engages in many charity and community activities, including providing free consulting services and training programmes in Vietnamese and German for Vietnamese women and their families in Berlin.

The exhibition runs through February 28 at the Vinaphunu office located in Prenzlauer Berg District’s Scholieb Street.