A meeting between tradition and creativity
Right from its name, Cham Then Cham Tinh evokes cultural materials with strong identity: indigo dyed fabric, Then lyrics humming with Tinh lute. The exhibition space is built like a journey, where every detail, every small corner is arranged to tell the story of the beauty of Tay ethnic culture - a beauty that is both rustic, quiet and strangely charming.
Then songs bring the audience into the exhibition space
In the first area, visitors can touch indigo fabrics from Saigon Indigo – where the process of dyeing fabric with indigo is delicately recreated, like a slow ritual of the mountains and forests. Each deep blue shade is a piece of cultural memory preserved through many generations.
Indigo-dyed fabric display area from Saigon Indigo, with the typical green color of the mountainous region
Not only visual, the exhibition also awakens the auditory sense with a new arrangement of the song “Moi Anh Ve Tay Bac” performed by singer Sam Minh Hieu. In that space, the sound of the đàn tính resonates in the middle of the city, both strange and familiar, both ethnic and contemporary. That is also the way the group of young people choose to bring heritage to touch the emotions of young people – through music, images, visual arts and technology.
New arrangement of the song "Invite you to the Northwest" combines folk and modern elements
Culture is the material, inspiration is the engine
One of the particular visual highlights is the “Symphony” collection by Hapuu Chaotic Pattern, where indigo cotton fabric is painted with wax to create complex yet poetic patterns. Equally captivating is “Identity” by Tay artist Vi Viet Nga, whose woodcuts and hand-painted ao dai depict the lives and beliefs of her own people.
Woodcuts and hand-painted ao dai in the collection “Identity” by artist Vi Viet Nga
To bring heritage to life, the group of students also applied AI to stylize Northwest motifs, based on photographic materials taken during the research process. Traditional patterns, through the lens of technology, appear completely new while still retaining the indigenous spirit.
Ngo Bao Hung - representative of the student group that initiated the project, shared: "When we started our thesis, we realized that although Then singing - Tinh lute was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, it was rarely mentioned in daily life, especially in urban areas. We did not want to just write a research paper, but wanted to tell that story through experience, so that everyone could see that Then singing is not strange at all."
Bao Hung and three other friends spent months researching and connecting with artists and the community, which led to the desire to build a community of young people who love Then singing right in Ho Chi Minh City. For them, this project does not end after the exhibition – this is just the beginning.
Young people enthusiastically explore ethnic cultural space at the exhibition
The hands silently keep the fire
Behind the project’s success is the support of Then singing artist – Master Xuan Bach, lecturer at Viet Bac College of Culture and Arts. Not only teaching techniques, artist Xuan Bach is also the one who inspires and helps the group understand more deeply the lifeblood of the heritage, to retell it in the language of the new era.
Tinh lute - an indispensable instrument in Then singing sessions of the Tay people
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Lien - head of the Then singing club of senior journalists in Ho Chi Minh City, commented: "The exhibition is a true cultural bridge. Young people have their own way of doing things, but the important thing is that they truly appreciate and understand the value of what they are preserving."
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Lien - Head of the Then singing and playing club of senior journalists in Ho Chi Minh City performed at the exhibition
Cham Then Cham Tinh is a gentle but powerful invitation for young people to enter the world of long-standing cultural values. Without dogma or cliché, the exhibition is proof that when young people truly love something, they will always find a way to tell it - fresh, engaging, and inspiring.
