To curate Vietnamese art to develop more and more

First step in training

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Viet Khoi, Vice Principal of the School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts (Hanoi National University), in the trend of integration, the art and culture will develop more and more, the role of the curator will be more and more important. Vietnam cannot stand outside of that trend. However, most of the curators are practicing in Vietnam in an unprofessional way. They are often artists or people who have studied art abroad, not many people are trained in curation.

Meanwhile, in the world , the art curation industry is quite developed. Curating is not only in museums and art institutes but is also a popular job in art galleries of wealthy families.

An art curator abroad is professionally and methodically trained, so they have many job opportunities, high income, and many opportunities to perform.

Most of the recruits in Vietnam are artists or people who studied art abroad, but few have been trained in curation (illustrative photo).

Therefore, with the desire to professionalize the curatorial profession in Vietnam, in the coming school year 2024 - 2025, the School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts (Vietnam National University, Hanoi ) will have a subject related to teaching art curation.

Sharing about this issue, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Khoi said: "After its establishment, the School of Interdisciplinary Science and Arts quickly completed its organizational structure. Based on the 5 old departments, the school was reorganized into 4 affiliated faculties. In which, the Visual Arts department was opened with two majors: Art Photography and Contemporary Visual Arts. There, we designed a curriculum with subjects that have never appeared in the traditional fine arts training program.

In particular, in the 2024-2025 school year, we have also developed and integrated the teaching of art curation into the Visual Arts training program. Here, students will be equipped with the basic theory of contemporary art curation as well as "practice" in art projects and major exhibitions. Along with studying the major, students are also trained in foreign languages, cultural knowledge and soft skills, even public speaking skills."

In the 2024-2025 school year, the School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) will include a course on art curation in the Visual Arts training program (illustrative photo).

"However, we do not dare to say that it is a curatorial training program because it is too big, but the curatorial subject will have a clear goal, which is to train bachelors who are capable of participating more deeply in the developing art life in Vietnam. They must understand how to work with galleries, be able to apply it to artist residency programs, festivals, and professional art exhibitions. By adding this subject, we have high expectations for the curatorial industry in Vietnam in the future. This will be a job that society is very interested in" - Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Khoi said.

Need support from the State

As a lecturer at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hanoi National University, and also one of the teachers of this subject, artist Nguyen The Son shared: "I think that including a course on art curation in the curriculum is quite important because it is considered a first step in training, contributing to gradually formalizing the recognition of the work as well as the position of curators in the overall picture of art in Vietnam. We also hope that the concept of curation will be recognized in an orthodox way in the education system, which will be a springboard for us to be able to invite professional curators both domestically and internationally to talk, teach and share with students. Students can only see their future when they have access to and work with professionals. At the same time, we believe that, not only after graduation, students will be able to enter the professional curation profession, but even in the first and second years of study, they will be able to do small-scale programs and projects."

According to artist Nguyen The Son, in parallel with training, the State also needs to recognize the position and professional title of art curators. Because, art curators working in Vietnam also very much want to affirm their name and reputation with this title. At the same time, in museums and art organizations of the State, there must be flexible changes in the management mechanism, inviting professional curators to work so that art events achieve higher quality and more expertise, contributing to raising the level of Vietnamese art in the eyes of international friends.

This is considered the first step in training, contributing to gradually formalizing the recognition of the work as well as the position of curator in the overall picture of art in Vietnam (illustrative photo)

Sharing the same view, Heritage Space Art Director and Curator Nguyen Anh Tuan shared: "To best promote the role of art curators, we need synchronous development, infrastructure and financial support from the State. And to be able to change the fastest in Vietnam today, we should establish an independent Arts Council. In which, there is the participation of the State along with independent experts, who are prestigious artists, curators or researchers, to start creating high-quality art programs. That is the model that all developing countries organize. Otherwise, there will clearly be a huge difference between the state and private sectors. Like us, we do whatever we do, the State does whatever we do, but we do not take full advantage of each other's roles and capacities in developing Vietnamese art".

According to independent curator and artist Tran Luong, in order for art curation to develop and achieve high quality in the future, in addition to the State needing to recognize curation as an official profession, the State also needs to begin to give opportunities, positions and responsibilities to curators in developing Vietnamese art as well as developing the cultural industry in the current period. Create conditions for curators to exchange, learn and promote their profession at foreign contemporary exhibition spaces such as the contemporary exhibition space at the Venice Biennale... In addition, those who practice art curation also need to continue to self-study to fill gaps and expand interdisciplinary knowledge to create and develop in accordance with their roles and functions, contributing to bringing Vietnamese art increasingly to the world./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/de-co-nganh-giam-tuyen-nghe-thuat-viet-nam-chuyen-nghiep-20240628144403479.htm