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In the fast-paced urban environment, Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) is sometimes reduced to parties, photos, or a few short days off. However, in Thao Dien, a neighborhood known for its internationalized lifestyle and affluent residents in Ho Chi Minh City, a large art space has chosen to go against the trend: slowing down, expanding emotions, and returning Tet to its true cultural essence.
Traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) spaces are infused with a contemporary feel.
This space doesn't simply recreate Tet through mere nostalgia. Here, tradition isn't confined within a glass case. Heritage is placed amidst carefully controlled lighting, high ceilings, and flexible open layouts, so that every step the viewer takes becomes part of the experience.
When Tet memories are awakened
The first floor of the "Chillala Joyfully Welcomes Tet" exhibition opens with a symbol of the Year of the Horse: an image of a horse in a cool, sharp, and modern metal material. Not a familiar decorative mascot, the artwork has a minimalist form, acting as a bridge between the past and the present.
The horse – the symbol of the Year of the Horse – appeared right outside the exhibition.
From the moment they step through the doorway, viewers are placed in a transitional state between memory and the contemporary in the area called Enjoy Festive Traditions, where the spiritual beauty of Tet is recreated with a new spirit.
Enjoy Festive Traditions area - Experience Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) of the past.
The "Traditional Tet" atmosphere emerges with a calligrapher's corner offering auspicious blessings, complete with red paper, ink, and delicate brushstrokes. Beside it are traditional folk games: O An Quan (a board game), Co Ca Ngua (a horse racing game), Bau Cua (a dice game)... These games, once cherished by generations, are stylized in form and simplified in color, but retain their original rules and interactive elements, creating a sense of familiarity.
Area for requesting calligraphy from a calligrapher.
Traditional games area
The first floor space also dedicates a significant portion to "Meet Local Artists" - an art meeting area. Here, local creativity is celebrated through ceramics, rattan and bamboo crafts, and other traditional arts.
Handicrafts at the exhibition
Traditional mother-of-pearl inlay art, Bat Trang ceramics, and Vietnamese paper flowers appear alongside contemporary products such as rattan bags and handcrafted accessories with cultural value, creating a multifaceted picture of Vietnamese crafts. There is no separation between "past" and "present," only layers of culture overlapping and coexisting in a shared space.
Traditional mother-of-pearl inlay art
In particular, a variety of paintings by artists from diverse schools are displayed, ranging from watercolors, lacquer paintings, 3D canvases to abstract art. Each work possesses its own unique personality, yet all radiate the spirit of Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and spring with vibrant flowers and colors. Contemporary brushstrokes do not detach from tradition but become a different interpretation of the same source.
Paintings of various genres and styles are displayed in the same space.
Discover heritage through installation art.
While the first floor emphasizes interaction and connection, the second floor opens up a journey of greater visual depth called "Discover Tet Heritage." Here, installation art plays a central role, transforming each corner of the space into a walkable setting.
Every corner of the space on the second floor is a scene that visitors can step into.
The installations are designed to resemble scenes of Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year). One area is distinctly traditional, featuring woven mats, wooden tables, tea sets, and a dragon depicted alongside the sun – evoking sacred symbolism and a spirit of aspiration. In another corner, rattan furniture combined with baskets of rice and snowdrops creates a spring atmosphere connected to an agricultural civilization.
The space recreates traditional Tet (Vietnamese New Year) with the dragon as the mascot.
In the center of the second floor is a prominently placed paper lotus vase. In front is a four-panel screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and behind it is the artwork "Flying Horse in Brocade"—purple, pink, blue, and white threads interwoven and tied together to form the image of a horse. The New Year's imagery is not depicted directly but is constructed from color and movement, creating a lively feeling as viewers move around the artwork.
Brocade Horse
Lotus flower painting
The paper lotus vase showcases the traditional art of paper folding.
Another section recreates the image of Ben Thanh Market using lacquer. The shimmering lacquer creates a scene that is both antique and imbued with a modern artistic spirit. This iconic image of Saigon, placed within a traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) setting, serves as a reminder that culture is inseparable from contemporary life.
Lacquer painting of Ben Thanh Market
A four-panel screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
The paintings continue to be interspersed among the installations, turning the entire second floor into an emotional "map." Viewers don't follow a linear path, but are free to choose their perspective, finding their own stopping point. Each frame could become a souvenir photo, but before being a backdrop for check-ins, it is already a work of art carrying a clear cultural message.
The paintings are displayed in the space on the second floor.
From enjoyment to lasting connection
Beyond the visual experience, the event also features an Art Merchandise area – a curated selection of exquisite handcrafted products, deeply rooted in Vietnamese identity. This is not simply a shopping area, but a natural extension of the exhibition's narrative: bringing art and local products closer to everyday life.
More than just an exhibition, the event also contributes to promoting traditional handicrafts.
Tet in this space is not a faithful recreation of the past. It is a refined, simplified version of Tet, placed within a contemporary structure to continue living with today's generation. Heritage is therefore not museumized but renewed, engaged in dialogue, and given the opportunity to move forward.
In the heart of Thao Dien – a symbol of wealth and integration – a traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) space emerges as a gentle declaration: no matter how much society changes, core cultural values can still find a place if retold in a language appropriate for the times.
The "Chillala Joyfully Welcomes Tet" exhibition runs until March 1st, 2026 at 75 Xuan Thuy Street, An Khanh Ward (Thao Dien District), Ho Chi Minh City.
