In addition to educating knowledge, ethics, and lifestyle, in recent years, fostering and nurturing a love of art among children has always received special attention from the Da Nang authorities, schools and families. Many festivals, competitions, and art camps have been organized and maintained regularly, creating a launching pad for young talents to express themselves and continue writing their dreams in the future.

The Da Nang Fine Arts Association disseminates content, themes and creative directions for children participating in the children's literature and art creation camp in 2024. Photo: X.D

Let children "play" with art

At the end of June, the final round of the 2024 Shine Children's Talent contest successfully ended, exceeding the expectations of the organizers. This was an annual competition organised by the Da Nang Music Association, in coordination with the Da Nang Children's Palace, to find young artistic talents.

In reality, the quality of the performances in this year's competition was meticulously prepared by the students, with careful investment in scripts, costumes, and very good artistic quality. Therefore, the jury decided to increase the number of first prizes to adequately motivate the students.

Excellently winning the first prize with the performance of the song ‘My Childhood Homeland’, Dao Ngoc Le Na, 11, said that last year, she registered to participate in the competition and reached the final round but only won the consolation prize. This year, a lot of effort to practice her voice and skills on stage was paid off, her performance was highly appreciated by the judges and won first prize.

“Becoming a singer has been my dream since childhood. Being able to shine in this year's competition makes me very excited and happy. I will try harder and continue to compete other competitions to realize my dream, meeting the expectations of my parents and teachers”, Na said.

In addition to the Shine Children’s Talent contest, every year, the Da Nang Children's Palace also organises the ‘Green Musicial Notes’ festival to find and develop child talents playing musical instruments. Candidates with talent and ability are continuously trained by the unit and sent to compete in regional and nationwide playgrounds. Recently, in the 27^th Pink Lotus Festival 2024 taking place from July 7 to 10 in Phu Yen Province, children of the Da Nang Children's Palace brought an impressive and excellent art performance, winning first prize in the entire group.

According to Director of Da Nang Children's Palace Nguyen Nhan, the role of art in children's development has been proven by many studies. On the other hand, art is also an area which children are very interested in. Therefore, organising activities, creating conditions and environments for children to "play" with art is very necessary, helping them develop comprehensively both physically and mentally.

“Through art competitions and playgrounds, we can discover and foster young talents among the city's children. Thanks to this, there are solutions to orient and educate aesthetic and artistic aptitudes, to advance children on their future path," Mr. Nguyen Nhan emphasised.

Develop a team of writers and artists

Art includes many forms, from music, theater, cinema, literature to painting. When it comes to literature and painting, Da Nang can be proud of having maintained a creative writing camp for children for more than 20 years. This is a useful playground during the summer, adding emotion and passion for art to the city's children. This year, the creative camp attracted the participation of 87 students.

Notably, the theme of this year's painting is compositions on the theme of the homeland's islands and sea, which not only has the meaning of fostering talent, but also contributes to cultivating love for the Fatherland’s sovereignty.

As revealed by Painter Than Trong Dung, the Chairman of the Da Nang Fine Arts Association, after one month of organisation, the association’s officials took children to visit Naval Region 3 and the Hoang Sa Exhibition House so that they could gain knowledge, practical experience, and nurture creative emotions, especially breathe a soul to their artworks.

Along with that, the Association has assigned its members with experience in teaching art to guide students' skills and orient their creative style. Through observation, this year's campers were truly talented and creative in colour, drawing, and new artistic sense. Hopefully, from the creative camp, the students would keep their passion and continue to practice to become the future nucleus of the city’s fine arts movement.

For the first time ever, the Da Nang Union of Friendship Organizations will coordinate units and businesses to organize the 2024 International Children's Art Festival, to create an attractive, useful and professional playground for young people and children with passion and talent for performing arts.

Chairman of the Da Nang Union of Friendship Organizations Nguyen Ngoc Binh said that the Festival will take place in August 2024 in the capital city of Ha Noi, the southern metropolis of  Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. In particular, besides Vietnamese contestants, there will be many contestants from countries such as China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

Contestants participating in the festival are aged 5-17, competing in 3 performance categories, including: musical instruments, singing - dancing and drama - theater - fashion. To date, there have been about 1,000 registrations. The organising committee will select about 200-300 best students to compete in the competition rounds.

“It is the first time being organised, but with the support of the Da Nang government, localities, and the active support of veteran artists, the festival hopes to bring useful opportunities for children to show off their talents, ability and dedication to domestic and international art, and at the same time, contributing to promoting Vietnamese art, strengthening friendship and multilateral diplomacy between Da Nang and countries around the world,” Mr. Binh said.

Reporting by KHOI NGUYEN - Translating by A.THU