Exhibition at Vietnam Fine Arts Museum to fund remote school construction

This solo exhibition displays over 50 works by artist Do Duc and provides an opportunity for the artist to share his creative journey and auction his works to raise funds for building schools in Vietnam's highland communes.

According to the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, a charity art auction combined with an art talk by Do Duc will be held from 9.30am -11.30am on September 14.

Drawing inspiration from the nature and people of Vietnam's northern mountainous regions, the works in the exhibition particularly highlight the landscape of the stone plateau and the lives of highland dwellers. Over 50 selected works in the exhibition depict the beauty of the majestic nature in the northwest, northeast, and Dong Van rocky plateau.

Mau xanh bien cuong (Borderland Blue), an oil painting by Do Duc, 65x150 cm

Introducing the exhibition, the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum said, “The paintings by Do Duc are like poems on stone. They capture the highland fairy tales nestled in each stone, tree hollow, and blade of grass.”

With two decades of mastery in oil painting, characteristic images of highland life such as mountains, horses, highland markets, and highland mothers enter Do Duc's paintings with a majestic and poetic quality, coloured like fairy tales.

Cho phien tren nui (Mountain Market), an oil painting by Do Duc, 65x150 cm

Speaking at the exhibition opening on September 11, Duc said that the exhibition was an opportunity for him to practically show gratitude to the land and people who have inspired his art.

Specifically, an oil painting from this exhibition will be auctioned to support the Hoa cua da (Flowers of Stone) school-building fund, contributing to the construction of a classroom for a remote village in Ha Giang.

“I’m donating and auctioning my paintings to express my gratitude to the Dong Van rocky plateau for supporting my artistic journey. All proceeds from the auction will be used to begin school construction in 2025. I kindly invite philanthropists and art enthusiasts to participate in the bidding, so we can provide an additional classroom for a remote village in the plateau,” he said.

Artist Do Duc in his studio

According to Duc, this is the 11^th year he has accompanied the Hoa cua da group, implementing the charity programme aiming to build schools for preschool children in remote villages.

In 2013, two paintings from Duc's first solo exhibition were donated for the organising committee to auction and give the proceeds to the two poorest households in Dong Van district.

The construction of classrooms for children in highland provinces by the Hoa cua da group has been ongoing for 11 years. The group has built 41 classrooms fully equipped with learning materials, and teacher accommodation at 18 school sites for 18 remote villages in Dong Van, Meo Vac, and Yen Minh districts. In 11 years, over 3,500 children have studied in these villages.

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