VietExplorer

Each figurine is created based on images sent in by customers. The work requires great attention to detail. The workshop has been busy over recent days as workers try to complete pieces ahead of Vietnamese Women’s Day which falls on October 20 annually. There are currently 30 staff working at the facility, with the majority of them under 30. A worker spends around 20 to 25 days completing a single figurine. It’s normal to fix figurines over and over again, shares Tuyet Lan, a 21-year-old worker. A mini human figurine is sized between 15 cm and 20 cm, depicting facial expressions in detail. The price of each figurine hovers around VND1 million to VND5 million, and the workshop produces eight to 10 items per day on average. Mini human figurines represent popular gifts in both the United States and Europe. The owner of the workshop – Thuy Dinh – has put these products on sale over the past year and has receiv...

For the first time, an advanced training course in the art of Xam (a music genre performed by blind artists) has been held in Hanoi from August 18 to 21.  Three little Xam singers of Ha Thi Cau Club from Ninh Binh Province perform at the class. Photos: Tra My The course brings together leading artists and music researchers associated with folk music and Xam singing such as People’s Artist Xuan Hoach, People’s Artist Thanh Ngoan, and People’s Artist Thuy Ngan, artist Mai Tuyet Hoa, and researcher-musician Nguyen Quang Long, among others. Trainees are 40 artists of different ages from 20 Xam clubs and troupes from provinces and cities across the country. This special program is organized by the Thien Tam Foundation in collaboration with the Centre for Conservation and Promotion of Traditional Music. “From the past to the present, from the present to the future, the invisible thread of time keeps connecting people who share the passion for the  Xam singing,...