HÀ NỘI — Contemporary art exchange between Việt Nam and Chile in the future was the subject at a seminar held on Thursday in Hà Nội.

The seminar was co-hosted by the Chilean Embassy in Việt Nam and Việt Nam - Chile Friendship and Co-operation Association under the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations.

The participants were young Vietnamese artists and Chilean artist Maria Luisa Puortuondo who shared her experiences on contemporary art to Vietnamese colleagues.

Puortuondo said that she always wants to bring her artworks to public spaces that are not traditional stages, in order to get closer to her audience.

"Contemporary art consists of four key factors, including the artwork, audience, artist and site specificity," said the artist. "In that context, the audience is not only a viewer, but they will interact with the artist."

Puortuondo is a visual artist and art performer. She graduated with an MA in theatre management before discovering her passion and talent in contemporary art. She has travelled a lot to perform and look for interaction between audiences and her work.

Some of her best performances include Missing Love and Secrets, which she has performed around the world, according to Chilean vice ambassador to Việt Nam Gonzalo Guaiqui.

Participating Vietnamese and Chilean artists provoked discussions on the role of contemporary art and future opportunities for art exchanges between the two nations.

Young Vietnamese artists said many contemporary artists have to work in other fields due to a lack of funding in local creative industries, yet they remain determined to pursue their passion.

At the seminar, the vice ambassador Guaiqui said that the exchange of art is a process that connects Việt Nam and Chile, despite their geographical distance. He cited the examples of Chilean musician Victor Jara, who wrote a song about peace in support of Việt Nam during the war and Chilean graffiti artist Alejandro Mono Gonzales, who travelled to Việt Nam last year to take part in the Hà Nội ceramics mosaic mural project with a 10m-long piece on Vietnamese-Chilean friendship. — VNS