Lan was honoured for his lifelong contributions to children’s art, embodied in a series of classic works, particularly his illustrations for To Hoai’s Diary of a Cricket.
The De Men Awards have been held annually since 2020 to honour outstanding works and performances created either by children or for children as the intended audience.
The awards include the Grand Prize titled Hiep Si De Men (Cricket Knight), a number of merit prizes titled Khat Vong De Men (Cricket Desire), and special commendations from the judging panel.
The Cricket Desire Awards were presented to six works: One Hundred Legs, a story by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan; The Strangest Grandmother in the World, a novel manuscript by Nguyen Thi Nhu Hien; a collection of drawings depicting Viet Nam by 16-year-old artist Nguyen Dang Hai Nam; The Robot Who Thought He Was Human, a short story by Le Anh Vinh; the Wolfoo animation series produced by Sconnect; and Yersin – Song of the Whale, a comic by Ta Huy Long.
This year, the organisers selected researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu as the Inspirational Ambassador for the 7th edition.
At the age of 106, he is a living witness to two centuries of history and a scholar who has devoted his life to Vietnamese culture, history, and scholarship. Through his lifelong academic journey and major research works on history and culture, he has been recognised with numerous prestigious honours.
Beyond celebrating artistic creativity for children, the De Men Awards have in recent years also fostered a spirit of generosity, nurtured a reading culture, and reached children across many regions through community and charitable activities.
As part of the 7th De Men Awards, an exhibition is being held at the Viet Nam National Museum of Fine Arts, showcasing the works of the late artist Ngo Manh Lan, who dedicated his entire artistic career to children’s art.
The exhibition showcases 51 paintings, illustrations and comics, along with three animated films by Lan. Notably, many of the exhibits are rare original works long preserved by the artist’s family and are on public display for the first time.
