Walking tour to experience public art space opens in capital

The public art project on the Tran Nhat Duat pedestrian bridge connecting the Phuc Tan public art space and the Cultural and Arts Center (22 Hang Buom) opened on May 4, creating the first walking tour of public art spaces in Hanoi.

The Tran Nhat Duat Street footbridge is a pedestrian walkway that connects the Old Quarter of Hanoi with the Phuc Tan neighborhood in the Hoan Kiem District.

Curator Nguyen The Son introduces the project. Photo: VNA

The artists Vu Xuan Dong, Le Dang Ninh, Can Van An and curator Nguyen The Son have transformed this pedestrian bridge into a more cheerful and lively one in the evening with the light of installation art. Part of it is made of recycled materials.

On the subject of water, interactive works will be installed at various points and on the footbridge, transforming it into a series of light works.

The work Aquarium by artist Vu Xuan Dong evokes the feeling of walking through an attractive aquarium tunnel.

Along the bridge corridor, artist Le Dang Ninh's Waves light installation evokes memories of the Red River's waves carrying silt throughout history. Interspersed between the layers of waves are hand-drawn images printed on woodblocks depicting workers of all trades in early 19th-century Hanoi in Henri Oger's study Technology of the Annamese people.

Visitors take photos of artworks on the Tran Nhat Duat footbridge. Photo: Duy Minh/The Hanoi Times

At the foot of the stairs, visitors can enjoy the painting Carp Crossing the Dragon Gate by painter Can Van An, inspired by Hang Trong folk painting school.

According to curator Nguyen The Son, the public art project on the Tran Nhat Duat pedestrian bridge is the fruit of three years of brainstorming. Connecting Hanoi's Old Quarter with the Phuc Tan public art space is like a link between the Old Quarter and the Phuc Tan neighborhood in Red River riparian areas.

Pham Tuan Long, Chairman of the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, said the theme of the art space is associated with nature and the environment and sends a message to reduce plastic waste and use recycled materials to protect the environment.

"This is also the goal set by the Hanoi government and tied to the development of cultural industries. This art space reaffirms the role of the Red River in the capital from ancient times to the present," Long said.

Tran Nhat Duat Pedestrian Bridge, Phuc Tan Public Art Space and Hanoi's Old Quarter are now connected, creating an attractive walking art tour that stimulates economic and cultural development and enhances the cultural life of local people.

This project also helps to promote the habit of walking to explore the city's cultural and artistic heritage.