Sep
19
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Building $500 million museum in Hanoi: Great waste!
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VietNamNet Bridge - As soon as VietNamNet published an article about the VND11 trillion museum project in Hanoi, hundreds of readers sent feedback about the article. Most believe that the new national history museum is too wasteful and it is not the time to build the museum.
US$524mil museum and the shortage of funds for heritage preservation
The perspective of the National Museum of History.
Reader Tran Viet at viettn79@gmail.com made an interesting analogy: "If this amount of money is used to do other things, the result will be as follows: if VND11 trillion ($524 million) is used to buy practical things needed, for example--cows, at the price of VND7 million ($350)/cow, we will have 1.57 million cows; if the money is invested in building charity houses, worth VND100 million ($5,000)/house, we will have 110,000 houses; if the money is funded the building of schools in remote areas, worth VND5 billion ($250,000) each, we will have 2,200 schools; if the money is invested in commune clinics, worth VND1 billion ($50,000) each, we will have 11,000 health stations; if the money is invested in wastewater treatment plants and sewer systems, each system worth about VND200 billion ($10 million), we will have 55 systems; with that money, we will also have 110 provincial hospitals, each hospital worth VND100 billion ($5 million), 5,500 bridges (VND2 billion or $100,000 each) over small rivers for motorcycles and bicycles in the remote areas, 550 generator columns, each column worth VND20 billion ($1 million)."
Most of the opinions said that more than VND11 trillion in investment for the National History Museum is a great waste.
"It’s a huge waste! If VND11 trillion is invested in building one modern hospital, people will warmly support it. Let’s see the current overload at hospitals. We hope that policy makers to listen to people's opinions before proposing plans and policies ", reader Kim Dung at tocmaybong@yahoo.com wrote.
The Hanoi Museum.
Meanwhile, a reader named Thai at thaibam1804@gmail.com said he was shocked to hear this information: "More than VND11 trillion to build a museum is really wasted. In this tough time if VND11 trillion is invested in the power sector so the power price would not rise continuously of if this amount of money is injected into the petroleum price stabilization fund, it would be much helpful. The VND11 trillion can also be used to modernize the Defense sector. "
Many readers believe that the money should be used for building schools, improving health services, roads to serve the people's life. "The budget capital should be used to do other things, our people are still very poor," wrote Phuong Hung at acer7868@yahoo.co.uk.
Reader Nghia Phuong at honghiaphuong09@gmail.com also presented some practical suggestions: "I'm really disappointed to see the plans to build the museum. We build it for what purpose? How many people will visit it each day? And how do we educate our children with it. Meanwhile, many national monuments are seriously degraded, some relics are abused. In my province, they also built a museum but it is deserted and there are almost less than 10 people visit each day, even though it is located in the center, a prime location.”
”In my opinion, we should stop that project, because there are so many things that need State funds, for example the construction of welfare facilities to serve the people. There are many lessons for the waste in building a number of works. It is very painful when someone wants to run for achievements to welcome... events."
Another reader said that it is needed to better treat those who are working at the existing museums and better use these museums.
"When the country has a lot of concerns as the current situation, please use money and the people’s effort for the right purpose. Making it better for the people who work in museums. Making better use of the existing museums is to serve the people, the remaining amount of the VND11 trillion should be invested in Health, Education and Defense. We need a prosperous country, not a beautiful society in formalism!" reader Nguyen Van Thinh at nvthinh.soil address @ gmail.com shared.
”Only interested in the illusory things” is the header of an email from reader Pham Van Doanh (doanh5280@gmail.com). The letter says: "In my opinion, there are a lot of infrastructure works that are in urgent need. Investment like that is too wasteful. Do not waste people's money (the state budget = taxpayer money) on projects like this anymore."
A reader in Hanoi (goldfield14@yahoo.com.vn) wrote: "I am a citizen living in the capital city so I occasionally take my children to museums in Hanoi; for instance the Military History Museum, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, etc. Frankly, it is a great waste to see costly new museums such as the Hanoi Museum or the Vietnam Literature Museum. These museums have almost nothing to show. They are deteriorated rapidly and became car parks, leasing offices or halls for weddings. Given the country's economic difficulties, we should send an emergency petition to the Prime Minister to ask him to stop this wasteful project, to give the budget for more practical goals! "
A reader at lambocxu@gmail.com agreed: "I agree with you. Even children in the urban areas in the urban districts of Hanoi do not have kindergartens or primary schools that are near to their homes. They only care about illusionary things, because these things are not being evaluated carefully. How many high-rise condominiums have been built and residents there are very crowded, but there are not enough schools for local kids.”
With the call: "Please stop before its too late!," reader Pham Huong at mosquitod08@yahoo.com wrote: "It is ridiculous! The current Museum of History is still beautiful so whey we have to spend majestic mountains of money to build a new one? While the entire Vietnamese people need most is to improve the health care system, you always say you cannot build hospitals because of shortage of funding!!! So where does that mountain of money of VND11 trillion come from? Does this country have money in excess to draw elephants?”
”Does the Ministry of Construction cannot find any significant works to invest in so it has to draw up this project to create jobs for employees? If this project is carried out, I must say that it is a crime against the country that is struggling in the current crisis, a crime against many children who do not have enough food and access to books or schools, and a crime against pregnant women who die of poor medical facilities! Please stop it before it’s too late!!!"
Reader Cuong (ejinglebelle@yahoo.com) wrote that it is needed to gather some museums together because: "Unless the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, which is operating very effectively, the rest of the museum doesn’t work well. It is more effective to use the Hanoi Museum to form a consortium of museums. Investing too big on museums is no different than the “restoration” of Tram Gian temple!”
Reader Dao Duy Anh (daomung68@gmail.com) said: "This work may be necessary, but it is not urgent. Given the large public debt, bad loans are increased, economic deflation, the implementation of this huge project is contrary to the popular. Why don’t we think of more pressing problems? The shortage of schools, overwhelmed hospitals in big cities, poor transport infrastructure are the urgent things and worth the investment."
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Sep
19
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Phuong Uyen withdraws from The Voice, replaced by Hoai Sa
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VietNamNet Bridge - "Phuong Uyen has officially withdrawn from The Voice as a Music Director," said Nguyen Thanh Nhan, an official from the Performing Arts Agency told VietNamNet on September 17.
Performing Art Department requires explanation from The Voice producers
Phuong Uyen still music director of The Voice
Phuong Uyen (left) will be replaced by Hoai Sa (right).
Nhan said the Performing Arts Agency received the explanation report of the Vietnam Television (VTV) which verified that the organizing board of The Voice had agreed with songwriter Phuong Uyen’s withdrawal. She will be replaced by musician Hoai Sa.
According to Nhan, after the scandal related to The Voice, the Performing Arts Agency had asked VTV and Cat Tien Sa, the organizer of The Voice, for explanation. Accordingly, Cat Tien Sa explained that before the press conference on September 11, the organizers had held a close meeting and had received Phuong Uyen’s withdrawal petition.
The organizing board had planed to replace Phuong Uyen by Hoai Sa. However, during the press conference took place differently while the media wanted to have an immediately conclusion. The organizers, therefore, temporarily remained Phuong Uyen as the musical director with the desire to give her another opportunity to prove her fairness and transparence.
According to explanation of the VTV, sent to the Performing Arts Agency on September 17, VTV agreed with Phuong Uyen’s withdraw from The Voice as a Music Director.
Caption: Musician Phuong Uyen will pull out from The Voice, Hoai Sa will replace her.
Nhan expressed: "Like it or not, the scandal came from Phuong Uyen. Her statement might originate from her artist instinct but that partly ruined the image of The Voice. In addition, Phuong Uyen’s health at this moment is not good so Cat Tien Sa and VTV agreed that Phuong Uyen’s resignation is appropriate."
He said that the Performing Arts Agency could only make suggestions to VTV and Cat Tien Sa and it could not sanction anyone because this is the function of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. However, this case is not serious to be settled by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism because it is just indiscriminate statements of an individual.
Nhan added that the Performing Arts Agency was the one that recommended VTV and Cat Tien Sa to approve Phuong Uyen’s resignation in order to solve the concern of many TV audience.
The official also stressed that this incident was the lesson for the organizing board in choosing the person to sit in the key position as music director.
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Sep
19
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Woodblock prints get modern twist
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VietNamNet Bridge – An exhibition at Ha Noi's Goethe Institute by German artist Christiane Baumgartner combines the old craft of wood-block prints with the modern technology of video.
Pre-jet: (from left) Dr Almuth Meyer-Zollitsch, head of the Ha Noi Goethe Institute; artist Christiane Baumgartner; and Ralph Lindner, director of the Cultural Foundation of Saxony with the eye-catching piece Transall, which measures 1.5m by 4.3m. — Photo courtesy Goethe Institute
The Wood Cut in the Digital Age exhibition features about 50 works by Baumgartner, who said she created her wood
blocks based on images captured in her own video stills.
The show includes the eye-catching piece Transall, which features three jet planes standing in a queue and measures 1.5m by 4.3m. It was made in 2002 after Baumgartner saw a newspaper picture of planes crashing into the World Trade Centre.
"The jet plane is a symbol of power and strength, and it's also a technology that has had a great impact on people," said Baumgartner.
Prints of the work can be found in the collections of the Albertina in Vienna, the Museum der bildende Kunste Leipzig, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Zabludowicz Collection in London.
Other works including books and a video are also on display at the exhibition in Ha Noi, which will run through September.
Many of the works on show at the Goethe Institute explore the convergence of speed and a standstill. Baumgartner's chosen format is the monumental monochrome woodcut, in designs and images inspired by video stills.
"Woodcut is a very traditional art but nowadays not many people know much about it," she said. "So I have combined woodcuts with the visual art video."
Almost of the works were inspired from images in videos of simple everyday scenes such as a blurred forest seen from a moving car or a trip through a city at night.
"For 10 years I have been working with woodcuts based on selected video stills. When viewed close up the image seems abstract, but the further one is away from the picture, the more recognisable it gets," said the artist.
"The time factor is important to me and the contrast between the slow time-consuming technique of carving wood and the motifs, which are often related to speed, such as highways and airplanes."
Baumgartner studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig and at the Royal College of Art, London. Her main artistic medium is printmaking.
She is the first artist to be awarded the newly created annual residency grant, presented by the Cultural Foundation of Saxony and organised jointly with the Goethe Institute in Viet Nam.
Being a guest artist in Ha Noi for three months Baumgartner said she hoped to immerse herself in the culture and the arts scene in Viet Nam.
"I am grateful to be selected because there are many artists applying for this grant. I hope to co-ordinate with Vietnamese art students to create some good works," she said.
Baumgartner said her new work dealt with landscapes, especially with reflections in bodies of water, a motif that she wanted to further develop during her residency in Ha Noi.
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Student wins ‘eco' diary contest
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19/09/2012 09:22:40
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Lan Khue to compete at Asian Super Model Contest
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19/09/2012 09:20:11
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7th century stele found
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19/09/2012 09:18:31
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"Antiques" and rare books at International Book Fair in Hanoi
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19/09/2012 09:16:02
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Bidding opens for excavation of recently discovered shipwreck
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19/09/2012 09:09:51
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Egypt gets set for millions of new tourists
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19/09/2012 09:06:27
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Epic poem sets 5 national records
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19/09/2012 09:04:41
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Tragi-comedy to debut in US
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19/09/2012 09:02:07
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Conde Nast Traveller votes the Nam Hai as Best Overseas Spa Hotel
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19/09/2012 08:57:53
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