QUẢNG NAM — Ten Korean artists have resumed painting a mural in the coastal Tam Thanh commune in Tam Kỳ City of Quảng Nam Province.

It is part of the Korea Foundation Community Art Exchange Programme.

It is two years since the team first started the project. They will now check on their earlier work and paint 20 new murals on other houses for the rest of this month.

The city’s administration said Korean artists turned the old walls of 100 houses in the commune into colourful murals, depicting portraits of villagers, local scenes and regional panoramas in the first stage in 2016.

The commune then launched a community-based art space as part of a tourism development pilot project with an aim to promoting the commune into a favourite eco-tour site after UNESCO-recognised heritage sites Hội An town, Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary and World biosphere Chàm Island-Hội An.

Tam Thanh village has a 6km coastline and a tranquil environment, and tourists can easily connect from there with Tam Kỳ and Hội An city. It welcomes  around 500 visitors each day, and 2,000 tourists on weekends.

Last year, the Tam Thanh art community village was awarded the 2017 Asian Townscape Award for its colourful murals in Fukuoka City, Japan.

It’s also the first project in Việt Nam that combines art space with community lifestyle.

Last year, artists from Singapore Technology and Design University, Việt Nam’s Fine Arts Association, colleges in Hà Nội and local painters joined painting on coracles for an exhibition in Tam Thanh commune.

Photographers from South Korea, the Philippines and Turkey had a photo trip to the commune for an exhibition in Seoul and other cities in 2017. — VNS