Traditional Vietnamese crafts go digital to boost global reach

On July 10, Bat Trang Museum joined Google Arts & Culture to become the first private museum in Vietnam to appear on Google's digitalised art platform.

High-quality images of over 30 artefacts created by late artisan Vu Thang during his nearly 50-year career in traditional pottery are featured on the platform. Notable among these are a collection of landscape vases depicting three regions, a pair of dragon-embossed vases commemorating 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi, and a ceramic shoe that gained attention in the Bat Trang Ceramic Shoe exhibition.

Additionally, Bat Trang Museum presents cultural stories about the 700-year-old pottery village and its people in Vietnamese and English on Google Arts & Culture.

A digital collection of Bat Trang Museum's ceramic and pottery products on Google Arts and Culture

"We hope that the story of Bat Trang pottery village and the unique legacy of artisan Vu Thang's distinctive ceramic style will reach a wider audience and inspire art and culture enthusiasts, not only in Vietnam but worldwide," said Vu Khanh Tung, director of Bat Trang Museum.

Google Arts & Culture incorporates modern features like gigapixel technology, VR, and more for comprehensive cultural experiences. Since 2011, the platform has partnered with over 3,000 cultural organisations across 80 countries, creating an accessible global cultural heritage knowledge repository.

Since 2021, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to showcase Vietnamese wonders, culture, and art. Notable projects include "Wonders of Vietnam", featuring the Trang An landscape complex and the Son Doong cave system; and "Vibrant Vietnam", highlighting cultural themes from across the country.

As a member of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network, Hanoi emphasises cultural industry development. In 2022, Hanoi Party Committee issued a resolution on cultural industry development, emphasising the role of traditional craft villages and the importance of digitalisation.

In the Vietnamese government's strategy for cultural industry development towards 2030, handicrafts are identified as crucial components of culture and foundations for innovation in creative design and cultural tourism.

Hanoi’s two more craft villages recognised as tourist destinations The administration of Hanoi recently designated two craft villages in Phu Xuyen district as tourist destinations, a move aimed to develop not only local crafts but also tourism.

Ceramics and pottery of Vietnam conquer the hearts of consumers at home and abroad Vietnam’s pottery and ceramics are among its long-standing and proud handicrafts, that look back onto a history of millennia. To further expose these goods to domestic and international customers, the Vietnam Value Programme promotes some of the potters and their brands as national brands.

Hanoi plans to introduce new city bus route connecting Bat Trang Hanoi’s People’s Committee has revealed plans to introduce a new city tour bus route linking downtown Hanoi with Bat Trang Ceramics Museum this year.