The graphic installation 'Bên Trong Đôi Mắt' (Inside the Eyes) by Nguyễn Nhật Anh. — Photo courtesy of the Victor Tardieu Awards 2026 organisers.

HÀ NỘI — A graphic installation themed Bên Trong Đôi Mắt (Inside the Eyes) has won the special prize at the Victor Tardieu Awards 2026.

The work by Nguyễn Nhật Anh, a student at the K4 talent class of the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts (VNUFA) Graphic Design Faculty, is among six outstanding creations by talented graduates from different artistic disciplines that have also won awards.

The annual competition is a prestigious art event, initiated last year by the VNUFA in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Indochina School of Fine Arts, now the VNUFA.

Jointly organised by the VNUFA, Millon Vietnam and the A&V Foundation, the initiative aims to recognise, encourage and honour students who achieve great things in their studies and in fine arts, helping provide a stepping stone to their future artistic careers..

Victor Tardieu Awards 2026 – the second edition of the annual art competition initiated by the VNUFA – has further affirmed its role as a launching pad for young artistic talents.

"The awards discover and honour outstanding artistic creations among students' graduation works, thereby building professional skills for young artists, creating opportunities to connect with art-loving audiences, and gradually bringing Vietnamese fine art closer to the international art market," the VNUFA principal Nguyễn Tuấn Phong said at an award ceremony held recently at the university's Art Space in the centre of Hà Nội.

 According to the principal, the event's organising board has agreed that after three years, all award-winning works will be exhibited alternately in Việt Nam and Paris, France.

"One outstanding artist will have the opportunity to receive an art scholarship in France, opening up opportunities for development and exchange within an international art environment," Phong added.

He noted that this year's competition had a new feature in that it increased interaction between the awards and the public.

The awards have been promoted in the media with images of the authors and their works, interviews with students and lecturers, and interactions between viewers and the process of judging and awarding on social media platforms.

Organisers also opened prizes for viewers who correctly guessed the winning entries.

"This enhances the appeal, attracts attention, and connects award-winning students with the public, creating motivation and sharing the significance of the awards with all students in art schools," said Phong.

"The Victor Tardieu Award 2026 once again affirms the historical mission of the VNUFA in carrying on the tradition of art education for over a century, preserving the artistic spirit of the former Indochina School of Fine Arts while developing in the direction of modern artistic creation, opening up promising futures for the next generation of artists in the new era of the country."

Anh, the author of the special prize-winning work, said she was proud to be one of the winners of Victor Tardieu Awards 2026 and saw it as a great opportunity and recognition from the VNUFA's art council.

The young author added: "This is a great motivation for me to continuously develop my artistic career in the future."

Also speaking at the awards ceremony, Hoàng Duy Cương, a representative from Millon Vietnam – a member of Millon, one of France's oldest auction houses, said: "We understand that the value of a work of art comes not only from the market, but first and foremost from the quality of its creation, the artist's perseverance, and an ecosystem that nurtures talent. Investing in young artists today, therefore, is also investing in the future of Vietnamese art."

The Victor Tardieu Awards are named after Victor Tardieu (1870-1937), a French painter who was also the first principal and founder of the Indochina College of Fine Arts, the predecessor of the VNUFA. Tardieu had a great passion for Vietnamese fine arts and contributed to training the first generation of modern fine artists in Việt Nam.

He is also considered the founder of modern Vietnamese fine arts, helping form the first generation of painters in the country. — VNS