The first Virtual Art Exhibition Space (VAES) is launched by Việt Nam National Museum of Fine Arts. — Photo VNFAM

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam National Fine Arts Museum has launched the Virtual Art Exhibition Space (VAES), creating a new platform for artists and fine arts lovers to display and access artworks in a new way.

The museum, together with VietsoftPro Company, co-created the project in 2021. After two years, it became the first virtual art exhibition in Việt Nam, utilising technology to provide distinctive and interactive experiences for users.

"We have nurtured the idea of forming a digital exhibition space for a long time," Nguyễn Anh Minh, the museum director, said at the launching ceremony on October 3.

"When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, museums and art exhibitions closed, and the public did not have the opportunity to access the artworks directly. With the desire to bring the artworks to the public, we were determined to build the virtual art exhibition space.

"VAES is expected to be the place where artists can exhibit, introduce, promote and archive their artworks, as well as having more chances to reach potential customers domestically and globally."

The opening of the space is just the first step of the museum to optimise the values of fine art works and introduce them to audiences globally without any border, according to Minh.

Initially, it hosts 10 exhibitions, including seven featuring collections kept in the museum and its branches in HCM City and Huế City, and three solo exhibitions.

The highlight of the exhibitions is the collection Aspiration for Peace in Lê Bá Đảng's Art. The exhibition introduces to the public the artworks and anti-war paintings collected by the artist.

Lê Bá Đảng (1921-2015) was one of the Vietnamese painters who achieved great success in France and other countries in Europe. He expressed himself through a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, jewellery and graphic works.

He went to France in 1939, joined the anti-Nazi partisans, and was held captive by the Nazi-backed government. He later enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in France’s Toulouse city and was catapulted into celebrity as one of Europe’s most salient artists, after holding his first exhibit in Paris in 1950.

Artist Đặng Văn Cường's collection The Mistake is one of the museum's collections displayed at VAES.

"The museum's VAES is timely, helping artists and their artworks to have more space for display," Cường said. "It will popularise art values to Vietnamese and international audiences."

Other exhibitions at VAES are collections Vietnamese Posters, Sketches from the Southern Resistance War, Love for Learning - Việt Nam's Great Tradition, Colour of Spring, Our Pathway to National Independence, and Woman Goes to The Sun.

"This is meaningful to the national museum," said artist Trần Thanh Bình, director of HCM Museum of Fine Arts.

"VAES allows the museum to reach wider groups of viewers around the world, gaining access to Vietnamese artworks without having to physically visit the location.

Digital exhibitions can be used to educate and create learning opportunities. They provide information about history, art, and culture, helping people better understand Vietnamese heritage, said Bình.

Digital exhibitions help preserve artworks and cultural heritage by allowing viewers to explore them without physical contact, reducing the risk of damage, Bình added.

"I highly appreciate the achievements of the national museum's digital transformation through the virtual art exhibition space."

VAES is the first step of the national museum aiming at introducing and promoting the value of Vietnamese artworks from the museum's collection and contemporary fine arts development to the public around the world, according to Minh.

In the future, the museum will continue to complete and upgrade the space to ensure the best interaction and convenience for users. — VNS