A collaborative exhibition, Tales from the River Bank, which is jointly organised by the Da Nang Museum and Bristol University, UK, has opened at the city’s museum, featuring photos and old stories of a fishing community on the Han River banks 20 years ago.

A copy of Nha Cho, or slum house, is exhibited at the Da Nang Museum.

The exhibition, which marked the first collaboration between the museum and Bristol University, tells the story of some of the families using their words and objects they have selected from the museum collections, such as oil lamps, fishing nets and firewood stoves. These stories document the resilience of a community, their connection to the river and the changing livelihoods.

Between 2000 and 2005, the Da Nang city authority relocated familes who lived in Nha Cho, or slums, along the east bank of the Han River to modern apartments in Nai Hien Dong quarter in Son Tra District. This marked a significant stage in the development of the city, transforming Da Nang into what is now one of Asia’s fastest growing cities.

Traditional livelihoods such as fishing are under threat all over the world. Urban development, sometimes unregulated, has a huge impact on people’s lives. This exhibition reveals the resilience of a community when faced with the challenge of relocation and change.

Graeme Were, who is chair and professor of anthropology in the department of anthropology and archaeology at the University of Bristol, said the exhibition was the first collaboration between the museum and the University.

“It was told stories from fishing families who had lived in Nha Cho on the east bank of the Han River, and they witnessed rapid urbanisation in the city when buildings have been gradually built in Da Nang,” Graeme Were said.

“We had four weeks to hear old stories and memories from the fishing community, and the changes of livelihood and quick development in the city. And the exhibition resulted from the fishing heritage and livelihood in Da Nang project.”

Nguyen Van Minh, a fisherman in Nai Hien Dong ward, said: "Fishing tools remind me of my time living in the Cho house in the past when everything in my family life revolved around the river and the sea. Nowadays, since moving to land, many things have changed, including my job.”

The exhibition funded by Knowledge in Action for Urban equality (University College London) will conclude today.

(Source: VNS/ DA NANG Today)