The exhibition 'Biên Độ Tương Lai' (Future Spectrum) at one of Hà Nội's biggest shopping centres is expected to bring arts closer to the public. Photo Lotte Department Store Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — An exhibition featuring 43 works by young artists at a Hà Nội shopping centre is offering visitors a fresh way to experience art as part of modern everyday life.

The works were selected from more than 400 submissions by students from the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts, Hà Nội Architectural University and the Hà Nội University of Industrial Fine Arts, reflecting the younger generation’s diverse perspectives on people, urban life, memory and the future.

The exhibition, entitled Biên Độ Tương Lai (Future Spectrum), is a collaborative project between LOTTE Department Store, 84Space and the Hà Nội Creative Design Festival. Supported by the Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports, it aims to create a platform for showcasing, connecting and supporting emerging artists while fostering creative activities and the development of the capital’s cultural industries.

According to Hà Nội cultural department director and architect Phạm Tuấn Long, this marks the first time a creative design festival event has been hosted in the shopping centre. 

“The collaboration between Government agencies, universities and businesses has helped bridge education and practice, bringing arts closer to the public through accessible community spaces,” Long said at the exhibition opening. 

“It also represents a cooperative model aimed at building a creative ecosystem, in which the State provides strategic direction, businesses contribute resources and universities and artists offer knowledge and creative talent.”

The exhibition is being presented in two phases. The first, Merge - Students, brings together works selected from projects by students from the three leading art universities. It is not only a platform for showcasing graduation projects and experimental works, but also a stage where ideas are refined and developed into distinct visual languages.

Meanwhile, the second phase, Expand - Young Artists, showcases new works by young artists who have already begun to establish distinctive artistic identities. It places the spotlight squarely on a new generation of creators who are steadily asserting their voices, perspectives and individual artistic practices.

The works presented in the second phase demonstrate bold experimentation with materials and techniques, and also reveal conceptual depth rooted in mature personal reflections and long-held inner concerns.

Head of the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts Đặng Thị Phong Lan describes Future Spectrum as a project shaped by a contemporary approach, one that fosters connections between businesses, art education institutions and creative organisations.

“This model not only creates an interactive public art space, but also transforms the way audiences engage with and experience art,” Lan said.

“Visitors are no longer limited to simply viewing artworks. They can enter the artistic environment, interact with it and experience the works from multiple perspectives.”

The exhibition has been designed as a journey guiding the visitors through successive stages of leaving the outside world behind and delving into the inner self, with all its tensions, reflections and emotional struggles.

Zone 1 marks the first transition within the exhibition space, where the visitors are invited to step away from the pressures and bustle of urban life and begin their artistic journey. It also mirrors the artist’s inner process and a conscious withdrawal from the noise of the outside world in search of the quiet reflection necessary to spark creativity.

At the centre of Zone 2 is the human figure, surrounded by symbolic structures that evoke the many layers of perception and emotion. 

The works in Zone 3 reflect the anxieties and pressures faced by young people as they seek to define their place in the world. This sense of tension mirrors both the artist’s internal struggles in shaping a distinct artistic language, and the broader challenges and emotional burdens that individuals often encounter in everyday life.

Zone 4 marks the culmination of the exhibition's journey, moving towards a sense of harmony while opening up new perspectives on life, humanity and society. Here, the creative process reaches maturity as personal concerns and reflections are transformed into messages that resonate with the wider community.

The exhibition runs until July 26 at 54 Liễu Giai Street. — VNS