National pride: A painting by late painter Nguyễn Thanh Châu will be on display at the exhibition Ký Ức Trường Sơn (Memory of Trường Sơn). The exhibition will open from April 26 at the Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts.

HÀ NỘI Several paintings and sketches created during the American War on the legendary Trường Sơn Trail will be on display at an exhibition open to public from April 26.

Entitled Ký Ức Trường Sơn (Memory of Trường Sơn), the exhibition will showcase more than 200 paintings and sketches by eight painters, who are former soldiers. The artists include late painters Hoàng Đình Tài, Nguyễn Thanh Châu, Đào Đức, and other living ones – Chu Thảo, Nguyễn Đức Dụ, Trần Huy Oánh, Phạm Lực, and Lê Trí Dũng.

Created during the period from 1960 to 1975, most of the artworks were made on the Trường Sơn trail (also known as the Hồ Chí Minh Trail). Some other works by painters Châu and Dụ were produced later on, based on original sketches.

Brothers in arms: A sketch cretaed by late painter Đào Đức will be on display at the exhibition Ký Ức Trường Sơn (Memory of Trường Sơn). The exhibition will open from April 26 at the Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts.

Alongside the paintings, Ký Ức Trường Sơn will also include an installation created from hundreds of black and white photos depicting the life and battles of Vietnamese soldiers along the trail.

Diary extracts will also be on show, including those by female war martyr Dương Thị Xuân Quý, composer Vũ Trọng Hối, poet Anh Ngọc, and former secretary of Hà Nội City’s Party Committee Phạm Quang Nghị.

Musical manuscripts of several famous songs about the trail by composer Huy Du will also be on display. The songs, including Trên Đỉnh Trường Sơn Ta Hát (Singing Together on the Top of Trường Sơn Range), Tình Em (Your Love), Đêm Trường Sơn (Night on Trường Sơn), and Nổi Lửa Lên Em (Light a Fire), are still some of the most popular patriotic songs for many Vietnamese people.

Visitors will also have chance to see letters sent from the battlefields by writer Ngô Thảo and a handwritten poetry collection by poet Nguyễn Thụy Kha.

During the exhibition, aiming to offer visitors valuable information about a glorious period in the nation’s history, the documentary Ký Sự Trường Sơn Huyền Thoại (Reports about Legendary Trường Sơn) produced by Việt Nam Television will be screened.

Co-organised by the Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts (VCCA) and the Trường Sơn Veterans’ Society, the exhibition is to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Trường Sơn - Hồ Chí Minh historical trail (19/5/1959 -2019) and 44th anniversary of Việt Nam’s Reunification Day (30/4/1975-2019).

“The paintings and sketches being shown in this exhibition tell the life and times of soldiers on the Trường Sơn Trail. Part of Trường Sơn’s history has been memorialised through paintings. By visiting the exhibition, visitors will have the chance to “meet” the brave soldiers and youth volunteers, who did logistics services and made roads for army troops, in every corner of this mountain range. We hope the exhibition will be a meaningful event to mark the country’s celebrations,” said writer Phạm Thành Long, representative of the Trường Sơn Veterans’ Society.  

The Trường Sơn Trail was constructed in 1959 to carry supplies to the Southern battlefield during the American War. For 16 years, the trail played a key role in the liberation of Southern Việt Nam and the country’s reunification on April 30, 1975. The trail has become a legend and a symbol of the Vietnamese people’s resilient spirit and the solidarity between Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

In January, the trail was listed among 11 prominent national heritage sites by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The exhibition Ký Ức Trường Sơn will be open to the public until May 26. The VCCA is at Block B1 – R3, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, 72A Nguyễn Trãi Road, Thanh Xuân District. — VNS