The mobilisation of social resources for investment or so-called 'socialisation’ in cultural activities contributes to not only raising funds, but also promoting people's creative potential. This, as a result, promotes the development of cultural and artistic activities and meets the growing public demand for cultural enjoyment.

Pupils at the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum-held exhibition themed 'Sketches of the Zone 5 Battlefield' 2022.

Joint efforts for good values

Ms. Nguyen Thi Trinh, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum, said that the museum has conducted the mobilisation of social resources for its cultural activities since its establishment.

In addition to the state budget, the museum has actively called on investment from sources in the society for exhibitions organised by famous domestic and foreign artists.

“Last year, the museum mobilised social resources for more than 50% of the number of its exhibitions, including partial socialisation and full socialisation. Particular for full socialisation, the museum only supported the premises and organisation activities, while the sponsors covered all operating expenses" Ms. Nguyen Thi Trinh explained.

Despite the impact of COVID-19, the museum organised many quality exhibitions to serve the public thanks to the socialisation. Included were a sculpture and painting exhibition entitled 'Con Giong', ‘Caravan - Trans-Vietnamese Painting' mobile painting camp, an exhibition of Japanese children-created paintings themed 'The world through the eyes of Vietnamese-Japanese children', An exhibition entitled ‘Hawkers and the Shouting on the Streets of Ha Noi’, the 'Portrait of Women' and 'Sketches of the Zone 5 Battlefield' photo exhibitions, and the 'Convergence of colors' arts exhibition.

In addition, the museum has appealed for investment from social sources in the conservation and preservation of artifacts through sending letters calling for donations of works, many of which are worth billions of VND. Prominent among them are collections of original comic drawings donated by painter Vinh Khoa and his wife (known as Vink and Claudine), 145 valuable folk paintings and rare woodblocks by researcher and collector Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa, and artworks by artist Vu Trong Thuan.

“The socialisation of cultural activities has shown the connection between the museum and the public, brought vitality to the museum, and directed people to join hands with the State to create good values for the public. In addition, cultural activities also help the museum improve the aesthetic taste and perception of beauty of the people, especially the young generation, thereby creating an environment of exchange and interaction between artists and the public, as well as to innovate and orientate in composition" Ms. Trinh emphasised.

Although it does not organise many exhibitions like the Fine Arts Museum, the Museum of Da Nang also regularly sends letters calling on private collectors to donate memorabilia during the anti-American and anti-French resistance wars, and ancient ceramics, especially the antiques associated with the culture of Quang Nam-Da Nang.

At the same time, the museum organises donation ceremonies and shows gratitude to those who donate artifacts and memorabilia.

The donation of artifacts and memorabilia is a source of encouragement for museum staff when receiving stories associated with artifacts and opening a golden page of the city's history. However, at present, our country has yet to have a specific mechanism to facilitate the implementation of socialisation for museums. Typically, those who spend their own money to buy artifacts and antiques and then donate them to the museum, what benefits they can get and how much tax relief they can enjoy.

“Hopefully in the near future, after the amended Law on Heritage is approved by the National Assembly, the museum will mobilise social resources for the museum, thereby contributing to promoting sustainable cultural development and creating motivation to encourage individuals and organisations to donate antiques and antiquities to the country”, said Director Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien of the Museum of Da Nang.

Efforts to overcome difficulties

Over the past time, the Trung Vuong Theater has gradually promoted socialisation towards full autonomy. To do this, the theater is constantly improving the quality of its arts programmes, rebuilding revenue norms, adjusting prices for stage rental activities, and organising more arts performances. This helps create a source of revenue, ensuring to offset the reduced funding from the State budget.

In particular, the theater has made great efforts to implement many large-scale, high-quality arts programmes inside and outside the city, gaining the trust of localities and partners.

According to the theater’s Director Tran Van Hao, his theater’s revenue mainly came from arts activities peformed by troupes. To ensure financial autonomy, the theater maximises its functions and effectively exploits the vacant space according to the public property use scheme approved by the municipal People's Committee.

Mr. Ngo Van Bay, Director of the city's Culture and Movie Center, said that his center implements the socialisation of people through the use of club members to participate in festival performances along both sides of the Han River.

He added that, the Le Do Theater under the management of the center has three screening rooms, but only one meets the standards. Additionally, the Le Do theater does not have a parking lot, and its location is not convenient, making it difficult for tourists and residents to access. Therefore, it found difficult to call on private investment into the theater.

To solve the current problems, the Culture and Movie Center proposes to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, and at the same time, recommends the municipal People’s Committee to build a new culture - cinema center at the Youth Park.

The 4-storey center will feature warehouse, parking lots, thematic exhibition space, cinema rooms, and a working area for employees.

Once completed, the new center will make plans to implement socialisation of cultural activities, especially appealing for investors to install projectors, tables, and chairs to make good use of 4 screening rooms.

Reporting by DOAN HAO LUONG - Translating by M.DUNG