French-Vietnamese Phạm Huấn and his wife Thúy Ái share ideas on creating an art space and exhibition centre in suburban area of Đà Nẵng. The Rockim Garden took five years to complete during the COVID-19. — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — Aged 60, Phạm Huấn, a French-Vietnamese IT engineer, and his wife have spent the past five years working on an art 'farm' in the suburbs of Đà Nẵng.

The creative space, in the suburban Hòa Ninh commune, 30km from downtown, is a special space for artists, sculptors, writers and musicians to focus on their art.

Huấn, who earned a scholarship for an IT course in France in 1982, said following his career success he opened his own company. But he had long harboured thoughts of making something special for his native village – where he grew up before studying and working abroad over the past 40 years.

A main art space of the Rockim Garden in Hòa Ninh commune of Đà Nẵng City. The one-hectare garden offers a living and art creation centre for local and international artists, sculptors, writers and musician. — Photo courtesy of Mỹ Dũng

He said the idea of building the art farm project was ignited in 2020 when his family evacuated during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“I brought the farm years ago with an aim of returning to Đà Nẵng to live after decades in Paris. The one-hectare farm at the foot of Bà Nà Mountain in the rural life space will not be just where I live, but I want it to be a workshop for artists and sculptors creating art pieces from rural life experience,” Huấn said.

“We had discussions with my friend, Mỹ Dũng, a local freelance photographer on the farm development, and we started the project even during COVID-19. It was named as Rockim Garden, because we had dug up many yellow rocks, and the name means Rocks and Kim (gold),” he explained.

The former IT professional said the name is also a form of harmony of between art and nature – an initial idea of the farm – and is an artistic creative rendezvous for friends from Việt Nam and across the world.

Huấn himself did the masonry with support from local villagers, and his wife, Thúy Ái helped him set up art space designs for the garden.

Defective stone statues are reused to decorate at the Rockim Garden. It reserves a free art innovation and creation for local artists and school students. — VNS Photo Công Thành

The local photographer, Mỹ Dũng, recalled that the farm intentionally used only recycle material including tiles, concrete debris, wood panels and stone sculpture statues that had been dumped.

“It took time to build up a ‘mosaic’ decoration. We carried trucks of stone statues that stone sculpture workers in Non Nước village had dropped,” Dũng said.

“Rocks and tiles were reused for inner paths and stairs. We repainted old glass, windows and doors to decorate the house, while ceilings were covered by the old newspaper,” he added.

Ái, Huấn’s wife, who was born in Đà Lạt City, said indigenous trees were selected to grow in the garden with water saving and low-carbon requirements.

“We built the garden as an effort to create something artistic and using recycling innovations. We brought in about 150 defective stone statues that local sculptors left on piles at workshops in Non Nước village – a major centre of stone art sculpture and a favourite destination in Đà Nẵng,” Ái said.

A brick built installation by sculptor Phạm Văn Hạng at Rockim Garden in Hòa Ninh commune of Đà Nẵng City. It's the first art piece of the local artist in setting up an art space in the tourism hub. — VNS Photo Công Thành

“We revived the debris into art pieces for living. I think that the farm will motivate local artists building their new ideas on art in a tranquil rural living space,” she said.

Famed sculptor Phạm Văn Hạng, who helped decorate Đà Nẵng with a series of architecture and sculpture designs, also set up a sculpture work space at the farm, as an initial foundation for future’s new ideas in art innovations.

Huấn said the farm would help him fill up with homeland nostalgia after decades of living in France, adding that he hoped more overseas Vietnamese would return to help the country develop.

“Every Vietnamese person living abroad could give a hand to make something interesting. It’s not only business or investment projects, but various of works can be done in supporting local people,” Huấn said.

In previous years, a French-Vietnamese artist, Vũ Trọng Thuấn also opened his gallery on the banks of the Hàn River in Đà Nẵng after 32 years living in France.

Thuấn donated a collection of his lacquer and oil work to the city’s Fine Arts Museum.

An interior view of the house of Rockim Garden. It has been built with recycled and low-carbon material in creating a 'green' art space in Đà Nẵng. — VNS Photo Công Thành

The vice director of Đà Nẵng Fine Arts Museum Nguyễn Thị Trinh, said that although the city is a favourite tourism hub in central Việt Nam, it has yet to build up an art space for local and international artists, so this is unique. — VNS