Tam Thanh is actually a commune grouping of four hamlets, namely Hoa Thuong, Hoa Trung, Hoa Ha and Tinh Thuy. The village faces the sea while its back leans on Truong Giang River.
Tam Thanh was turned into a mural village under the “Art for a Better Community” project, which was launched in 2016 as a joint initiative by the Republic of Korea’s Community Art Exchange Programme and the People’s Committee of Quang Nam to support the growth of local tourism industry.
Since 2017, an exchange event has been held annually to encourage painters and architects from the two countries to produce more murals and artworks to the project. This year’s event took place from May 23 to June 3 with the participation of 17 artists from Hue City and localities in Vietnam’s northern region.
They included many veteran names cultural researcher Nguyen Thuong Hy from Da Nang, art critic and researcher Phan Cam Thuong from Hanoi, and painter Phan Xung from Hue City.
There were also artists born between 1960s and 1980s, namely Le Dinh Nguyen, Tran Thi Thu, Vu Trang, Nguyen Long, and Ha Tuan Minh.
Despite their different ages and cultural backgrounds, the participating artists share a common passion for painting, creativity, and the arts. Their artworks were curated by painter Vu Duc Hieu, Director of Muong Cultural Space Museum.
The artists received support from 26 local arts teachers, border guard soldiers, and young volunteers. Under the joint effort, a total of 100 woven bamboo boats and coracles and 15 walls of selected local households were given new coats. Three iron sculptures were also set up.
During the exchange events in 2016 and 2018, the Korean artists launched small-sized mural paintings in a realistic style featuring local people and daily life in Tam Thanh.
Meanwhile, most of the artworks produced at this year’s event by artists from Vietnam’s northern region were blended with abstract style with a mysterious expression.
According to painter and cultural researcher Nguyen Thuong Hy, who has participated in the project since 2016, mystery, fun, and interaction with viewers are three important criteria for community artworks.
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The sign board reads “Tam Thanh Mural Village”
Painter Phan Cam Thuong painting on a woven bamboo boat.
A boat coated with a painting featuring a dancing Champa Goddess with flowers and birds in the background.
The wall of a local house decorated with images of flamingos, an artwork by Nguyen Minh Phuoc and Tran Minh Duong.
A painting on a Champa goddess on the surface of a coracle.
A total of 100 paintings on coracles and woven bamboo boats created by the artists are on display along a beach in Hoa Trung Hamlet.
