On Monday, the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum at 78 Le Duan officially opened to the public.  The museum is the result of an upgrade, which began in May 2015, of the former Centre of Cultural Heritage Management.

Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary Vo Cong Tri (1st left) and Vice Chairman Dung (2nd left) are listening to an introduction to the museum’s 1st floor

Speaking at the opening ceremony, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung highly praised the local relevant agencies for their great efforts in ensuring the quality and on-schedule progress of the upgrade of the museum to mark 20 years since the city's recognition as a centrally-governed city on 1 January 1997. 

He took the opportunity to ask the Department of Culture and Sports, and the Board of Directors of the museum, to make every effort to effectively organise regional fine arts events there, as well as make the museum a popular venue for fine arts lovers from across the region, and for educating locals in aesthetics.  

He suggested that the museum’s staff should do their utmost to preserve and promote the quintessence of the fine arts values of Da Nang, and the central region as a whole.    

Visitors at the 2nd floor …

Currently, the 29 billion VND museum is home to 604 exhibits, many donated by famous domestic painters.

As they enter the 3-storey museum, visitors will be impressed by a 5m x 3m bronze relief which was intricately carved by artisans from Ha Noi.  The relief represents the development history of the fine arts sector of Da Nang, and the central region and highlands as a whole.  It also depicts some artworks and sculptures which won national and international-level awards.  Included are Viet Nam’s largest monument to the women whose children sacrificed their lives fighting for their country, which is in Quang Nam Province’s Tam Ky city, the Cau (Bridge) Pagoda in Hoi An City, the Han River Swing Bridge, Cham sculptures, the Guol houses of the Co Tu ethnic minority people, and the ‘Cau Ngu’ (Fish Worshipping) and ‘Cong Chieng’ (Gong) festivals.

… and the 3rd floor

The first floor houses pieces of fine art donated by painters from Da Nang and elsewhere in the central region.  The pieces have won notable prizes at national fine arts exhibitions since 1976.  In addition, there are works which won prizes at the Da Nang arts creation camps in 2014 and 2016.  They were made by famous domestic painters such as Vu Trong Thuan, Vinh Phoi, Ho Huu Thu, Duong Sen, Ca Le Thang, Ho Minh Quan, Le Thanh Tung, Le Tri Dung and Nguyen Phu Hau.

Painter Tran Khanh Chuong (left), Director of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum, presenting a painting to the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum

The second floor displays pieces of modern art, whilst the third floor showcases ancient, folk and applied arts.  Included are collections of Tuong masks, worship mascots, pattern art on ethnic costumes, jewellery and fabric, sculpture art in temples and pagodas, and pottery and ceramic arts.