The exhibition space Chiến Tranh Và Hòa Bình (War and Peace) at Hà Nội Museum. — Photo courtesy of the museum

HÀ NỘI — Two installation exhibition spaces – Chiến Tranh Và Hòa Bình (War and Peace) and Vũ Điệu Xuân (Spring Dance) – have opened, launching a series of artistic programmes hosted by Hà Nội Museum this year.

War and Peace, set up by artists Thu Trần and Tây Phong, is a contemplative space about memory and the value of peace today. Aircraft debris and bomb casings are placed within a new spatial structure and set in dialogue with silk, dó (poohnah) paper, pandan paper and lacquer, creating an interplay between cold metal and soft traditional materials. Rather than reenacting war illustratively, the exhibition invites visitors on a meditative journey where the past is revisited in stillness and oriented toward the future.

Meanwhile, Spring Dance by artist Nguyễn Đức Phương is vibrant and full of life. On a simple bamboo frame, colourful tuồng (classical drama) whips sway in the breeze like a visual concerto, evoking tradition while opening a rhythm of renewal and hope.

Two exhibitions, two tones – united by a common thread: a dialogue between memory and the present, between heritage and contemporary creativity.

Director of Hà Nội’s Department of Culture and Sports Phạm Tuấn Long (second from right) is pictured with participating artists. — Photo courtesy of the museum

According to the Director of Hà Nội’s Department of Culture and Sports, Phạm Tuấn Long, the two installation exhibitions, despite being inspired by familiar themes, both carry profound humanitarian significance in the current context.

Through bomb fragments, aircraft wreckage and evocative artistic spaces, the displays recall the memories of war while affirming the value of peaceful life and the capital’s development from 1972 to the present.

He noted that the exhibitions open the series of cultural events for 2026, leading up to the commemoration of the 950th anniversary of the Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu–Quốc Tử Giám).

They are also part of Hà Nội’s programmes focused on arts education and aesthetic training for younger generations, implemented in response to Resolution 80 and related policies on science, technology, innovation and aesthetic education.

Artist Thu Trần said the idea for War and Peace grew from the emotional impact of encountering aircraft fragments and bomb casings – war remnants preserved at the Hà Nội Museum – and from a deepened appreciation of the value of peace.

She said the greatest challenge was both to respect the artifacts’ original integrity and to create a new aesthetic structure that opens a dialogue about memory and the value of peace. Combining soft materials such as silk and dó paper with metal is intended to evoke a sense of healing and rebirth.

A visitor takes photos at the installation exhibition space Spring Dance. — VNA/VNS Photo

Speaking about Spring Dance, artist Phương said the work was inspired by the tuồng whips, symbols of courage and heroic spirit in traditional performing arts. He developed the whips’ highly stylised colour palette into a contemporary visual installation resembling a 'festival of colour', conveying hopes for renewed energy and prosperity.

The artist hopes audiences will engage with folk culture through dialogue and reinvention so traditional values continue to thrive in today’s life.

Visitor Trần Thị Nhung from Dương Nội Ward said she was particularly impressed by how the artists contrasted the cold metal of wartime relics with soft, traditional materials like silk and dó paper.

She felt the space did not convey heaviness; on the contrary, it invited stillness and reflection:  “I clearly sensed a movement from memory to the present, from loss to faith. This is a very different way of telling history-gentle but profound.” — VNS