Recent years have seen a growing number of foreign painters and sculptors around the world arriving in Da Nang for painting exhibitions and sculpture exchanges respectively.

Mexican sculptor Paloma Torres beside her ‘City Stories Totem’ work displayed at the APEC Park

Like a universal language, arts have the uncanny ability to overcome cultural and ethnic differences to bring people closer no matter where they are from, what they look like and what they believe in.

During her recent stay in Da Nang, Mexican sculptor Paloma Torres, 58, visited the APEC Park where her ‘City Stories Totem’ work are on display permanently amongst the total 21 sculptures from member economies since the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017.

The Mexican sculptor obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from the National School of Plastic Arts of UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), where she also earned a Master’s degree in colour engraving.

She has participated in more than 100 exhibitions in total in Mexico and abroad, creating large columns and other pieces inspired by natural landscapes and modern cities.

When asked about what inspired her to create ‘City Stories Totem’ for display at the APEC Park, Torres said she would like to make an impressive arts work featuring the spirit of friendship, solidarity and cooperation in the APEC community where cultural diversity has been promoted.  

Made from clay, ‘City Stories Totem’ features the image of cylindrical skyscrapers which are popular in Mexico, demonstrating a strong aspiration for conquering the universe.

She added that one interesting similarity shared by both Viet Nam and Mexico is that the 2 countries focus on highlighting their distinctive cultural values.

A contemporary arts exhibition themed ‘Connection’, which took place at the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum in March, highlighted high-quality arts works made from various materials by 14 foreign artists.

They are living and working in Da Nang and Quang Nam Province. They come from the UK, France, Russia, the Netherlands, Norway and other European countries.

The exhibition aimed to celebrate the 45^th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and European countries.

French artist Jean Cabean, one of the participants at this interesting event, could not hide happiness as European artists decided to settle down in Da Nang, and they now enjoy their lives full of great passion for arts, and together convey meaningful messages in life through their works.

In his remarks, Cabean said Da Nang would become a global city boasting distinctive cultural identity; hence cultural exchanges are indispensable in the current global integration process.

It is a good idea for artists from all over the world who are living in Da Nang to join forces to create a stunning artistic picture in a bid to give new look to this beautiful seaside city.

Local sculptor Pham Hong said, the fine arts, especially sculpture, help to promote cultural exchanges between Da Nang and other countries worldwide.

Many foreign sculptors have established a special attachment to Da Nang which they regard as their second home.

Norwegian sculptor Oyvin Storbaekken, in his early seventies, decided to settle down in the city to develop the Da Nang Sculpture Project, which aims to guide local sculptors in the use of modern carving techniques.

Over the past 17 years, Mr Storbaekken has invited many renowned sculptors worldwide to participate in the project in order to promote exchanges of stone carving experience. This has led on to locally-carved sculptures being exported to northern European markets.