‘Street Stories’ and ‘Street Soul’ were exhibitions within the framework of the 2024 Da Nang Cultural Heritage Festival organised by the Museum of Da Nang in November. Here, visitors were very impressed with sketches and miniature models of Da Nang over time made by young people.

Here is the model of the Da Nang Museum Cham Sculpture by a group of students from the University of Education at the exhibition. Photo: X.S

In particular, ‘Street Stories’ featured 30 sketches, narrations, and drawings of a part of the urban picture of Da Nang during the French colonial period, helping viewers visualise more clearly unforgettable memories. Meanwhile, ‘Street Soul’ gathered models of typical architectural works.

Participating in the exhibition, a group of students Nguyen Trung Nam, Nguyen Thao Phuong and Nguyen Thi My Lan, the Faculty of History, the University of Education, a member of the University of Da Nang-UD) brought a model of the Cham Museum of Sculpture vividly created with recycled materials from paper, cardboard and cream sticks, etc.

“Our group chose to create such a model because this is a place with great cultural and historical value, closely associated with the city’s image. Besides, we also have many memories of this place through lessons and field trips related to our major,” Trung Nam shared.

In addition, the images of the Museum of Da Nang, the Da Nang Cathedral, Tien Son Sports Palace were also vividly portrayed by the young people. According to Trung Nam, when making the model, the group carefully researched the history of formation and development to accurately recreate it.

At the same time, the models prioritise the use of environmentally-friendly materials that can be easily found anywhere. This creates a sense of intimacy but still shows the spirit of creativity and highlights the message of environmental protection embedded in cultural stories.

“Participating in the exhibition, for us, is not only a creative playground but also an opportunity to learn and apply the knowledge we have learned through historical research sessions, searching for images and documents related to the Museum of Cham Sculpture,” Nam said.

Like other teams, Nam hopes that his products and his friends’ will be preserved for a long time to introduce and spread the city’s culture to visitors from near and far.

Meanwhile, through the sketch, a part of Da Nang’s urban area bearing the ancient mark such as the City Hall at 42 Bach Dang, the Dien Hai Citadel, the Con Market, the Phu Dong Primary School, Tich Thien Duong ancient house, the Nam O and Nguyen Van Troi bridges, a house No.71 Hoang Dieu were vividly recreated. This was the passion showed by the members of the Tram Ky Club of Duy Tan University Students’ Association.

Operating since 2022, this place has become a creative playground for young people who are passionate about architecture and painting from many schools citywide.

Student Van Viet Nam from the private Duy Tan University, the representative of the club, shared that this was the second time Tram Ky had participated in the Da Nang Cultural Heritage Festival. Accordingly, members proactively researched the works, choosing the most unique angle to display their works. The result of a month is 30 sketches that were well-prepared in terms of composition, lighting, and details and were loved by many tourists.

According to Van Viet Nam, participating in the Da Nang Cultural Heritage Festival was an opportunity for young people who loved art to hone their skills, learn more about ancient culture, and interact with experienced predecessors. The club hoped that the sketches would be widely introduced to the community through podcasts, documents, and promotional programmes.

The paintings and models showed the true spirit of the story of ‘from village to city’ and ‘village in the city’ of Da Nang itself, which was emphasised by Da Nang Museum at the Da Nang Cultural Heritage Festival in 2024.

Director of Da Nang Museum Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien acknowledged: "On its long journey of formation and development, Da Nang that has gone through many ups and downs, historical fluctuations and has grown to become a major economic centre of the Central Viet Nam - Central Highlands regions. However, in the heart of the modern city, there are still architectural works bearing the mark of time like a connecting thread from the past to the present, containing many cultural and historical stories and contributing to the "urban soul" of Da Nang". That "urban soul" has been preserved and promoted by young people through cultural and artistic events in the city on the iconic Han River.

Reporting by XUAN SON - Translating by A.THU