QUẢNG NAM — The moss-covered walls of a humble fishing village have been brightened up with murals following an extensive art project.

Trung Thanh Village in Tam Thanh Commune by the seashore at Tam Kỳ City in the central province of Quảng Nam is now full of art thanks to the Korea Foundation Community Art Exchange Programme that finished a project yesterday.

Five artists from South Korea and 12 volunteers from both Viet Nam and South Korea joined the programme. Even locals struggled to contain their excitement, as they volunteered to help clean and paint the walls.

The project involved turning the old walls of 100 houses in the village to colourful murals, depicting portraits of villagers and local scenes and more regional panoramas, said Trần Diệu Ly, co-ordinator of the project.

“Trung Thanh Village was selected for this programme because its population density was high,” said Ly.

“The houses are close to each other and that makes it easy to create a special effect like an art gallery.”

His face lit up when Võ Ngọc Liên, 72, looked at the fresh paintings on his walls.

“I couldn’t imagine that my old-fashioned house can be brilliant like this,” he said.

“Our village is filled with a blaze of colours. All the villagers are so happy and proud of living in an artistic space. Colourful paintings bring positive perspectives for all of us. Under the cruel heat of summer, we just look at the murals to find solace.”

Children are especially excited as they are portrayed in the murals. Happy childhood moments are also preserved in these artworks.

The Korea Foundation has introduced wall paintings to Việt Nam in an effort to contribute to life with art and culture in the international community, joining forces with the UN-Habitat Việt Nam which has helped the country’s cities develop sustainable urban environments, said Park Kyoung-chul, director of Korea Foundation in Việt Nam.

“It’s a chance for experts on community art and urban development from the country and South Korea to get together to share ideas, experiences, and expertise to find ways of implementing community art in Việt Nam,” he said.

Artist Oh Ye-seul, 25, has participated in many village mural projects in South Korea. When the programme called artists to join, she immediately registered to have a chance to come to Việt Nam.

In the summer sunlight, she ignored the sweat dripping from her brow as she finished painting a wall with a picture of Olaf, the beloved character from the ‘Frozen’ animated film. She expects that the image and sparkling snow will delight local children.

“We want to bring new vitality and a jubilant atmosphere to the village,” said Oh.

Nguyễn Thanh Bình, chairman of Tam Thanh Commune People’s Committee, said the project helps improve the landscape and raise people’s awareness of protecting the cultural environment.

“Fine arts impact positively on people’s attitude. Living in a beautiful house and village, the people will feel proud and happy to be surrounded with art.”

“The new face of Trung Thanh Village will boost local tourism as this is the first mural village in the country,” said Bình.

Photographers from South Korea, the Philippines and Turkey visited Tam Kỳ to take photos of the beautiful scenery and create a visual record of the wall painting process. The photos will be exhibited in Seoul and other international cities later this year. — VNS