FINE ART: A sculpture exhibition at the HCM City Fine Arts Association. Photo courtesy of the association

HCM CITY – HCM City artists have suggested that local authorities should set aside more public space for sculptures to develop the city’s art and bring the art closer to the community.

Sculptor Trần Thanh Nam, vice chairman of the city Fine Arts Association, said at a workshop on developing public sculptures in the city held on Monday that it was necessary to have an urban planning project that contain spaces for community culture with artwork such as sculptures.

Nguyễn Xuân Tiên, the association’s chairman, said, “The city’s public spaces will be more interesting and fascinating if there are more artworks. We can install sculptures to decorate old factories, bus stops and stations, metro stations, and parks in urban areas and along the rivers and canals.”

He added the move aimed to beautify public spaces and create new life for those venues.

Tiên also said: “Since 1975, the city’s sculptures have seen great progress in quantity and quality, as well as the number of sculptors. However, not many works have left a deep impression on viewers or were suitable for urban spaces.”

Many works still focus on showing off the artists’ skills, but not conveying their thoughts or messages of life, while huge works or monuments telling historical events and stories were not enough to impress viewers, he added.

According to the association, the city now has around 200 sculptors.

The association has also held field trips and creative camps across the country for sculptors to find inspiration, as well as several fine arts exhibitions for artists to have opportunities to show off their works to the public.

In addition, the city also hosted national and international sculpture symposiums which attracted dozens of international artists.

However, after the activities, many artworks were still kept in the corner of storerooms.

The workshop participants agreed with the association and emphasised the role of the association and local government in developing the city’s art.

The association and the Departments of Culture and Sports, and Tourism need to work together to create cultural spaces, where residents and local and international visitors can approach beautiful sculptures and artworks to make the city beautiful and elevate aesthetics for the people.

Tiên said it was necessary to coordinate all levels of administration, the association and each artist to seek solutions and new directions for the development of public sculptures to turn the city into an art hub of the south and the whole country. – VNS