Copies of Đặc San Sen on display at the Sen Đầu Mùa launch event in Hà Nội. — VNS Photo Ánh Vân

HÀ NỘI — A lotus-themed cultural event celebrating memory, resilience and Vietnamese heritage opened in Hà Nội on Wednesday, launching a wider series of activities under the theme Hành Trình Di Sản Và Hòa Bình (Journey of Heritage and Peace).

Organised by the Việt Nam Cultural Heritage Association and the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in collaboration with Senhouse Việt Nam, the event Sen Đầu Mùa (First Lotus of the Season) marks the 136th birth anniversary of President Hồ Chí Minh and celebrates International Museum Day on May 18.

Held at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, the programme featured two main activities: an introduction to the upcoming exhibition Sen Trong Đá (Lotus in Stone) and the launch of Đặc San Sen, a special heritage publication dedicated to the lotus and its cultural significance in Vietnamese life.

Guests wearing lotus-themed áo dài, adding a graceful visual tribute to an event celebrating Vietnamese heritage, remembrance and peace. — Photo courtesy of the Vietnamese Women’s Museum

The gathering drew historians, artists and cultural figures, many arriving in elegant áo dài embroidered with lotus motifs, a striking visual tribute that echoed the event’s spirit of grace, purity and endurance. The ceremonial detail added warmth and symbolism to a programme rooted in remembrance and national identity.

Veteran historian Dương Trung Quốc described the project as an important act of cultural continuity linking generations through heritage.

“History does not rest in memory alone, but lives on in the way each generation chooses to preserve and retell it,” he said.

“Lotus in Stone is one such telling through tribute, through art and through the aspiration to let the values of the past continue to resonate today.”

At the heart of the programme is Lotus in Stone, a follow-up exhibition opening on May 12 at Côn Đảo Museum before welcoming visitors from May 13 to 16. Jointly developed over 27 months by the Vietnamese Women’s Museum and Senhouse Việt Nam, the exhibition is organised around three themes: Hồ Chí Minh Đẹp Nhất Tên Người (Hồ Chí Minh - The Most Beautiful Name), Sắc Sen Trong Đá (Lotus Colours in Stone) and Tỏa Mãi Hương Sen (The Everlasting Fragrance of Lotus).

The exhibition honours 25 female political prisoners from Việt Nam’s resistance wars, presenting their portraits on dried lotus leaves alongside archival stories printed on canvas and displayed against woven bamboo screens.

Using entirely Vietnamese materials, the showcase transforms the lotus from a symbol into a storytelling medium — one that speaks of dignity, sacrifice and quiet strength flourishing even in hardship.

People’s Artist and sculptor Vương Duy Biên, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the lotus remains one of Việt Nam’s most enduring cultural symbols.

People’s Artist Vương Duy Biên speaks at the event. — Photo courtesy of the Vietnamese Women’s Museum

“The lotus is not only a beautiful flower but a cultural symbol deeply embedded in the Vietnamese spirit,” Biên said. “Each contemporary interpretation of the lotus enriches the living heritage of the nation in new and meaningful ways.”

As the heritage journey moves from Hà Nội to Côn Đảo, organisers hope the programme will encourage the public to see the lotus not only as an emblem of beauty but also as a vessel of memory, carrying stories of resilience, humanity and peace across generations. — VNS