Promoting values ​​and reviving the potential of cultural institutions

TPO - Regularly organized large-scale artistic activities not only serve the needs of the audience, but also bring vitality to local cultural institutions. Experts affirm that cultural institutions not only have the function of organizing artistic performances but also integrate many types of entertainment, services, conferences, etc. This is a suitable direction in the context of theaters having difficulty finding audiences.

Recently, many art events, performances, theater festivals, etc. organized by units under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and specialized art associations have become closer to the public in localities and regions.

In January 2024, the program to honor outstanding artists and some outstanding books in the fields of performing arts and literature in 2023, chaired by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, was held at the Bac Giang Provincial Convention Center.

On the evening of May 13, at Hai Phong City Theater, the Vietnam Stage Artists Association in coordination with the Hai Phong Department of Culture and Sports organized the first National Stage Arts Festival for children and adolescents in 2024.

In mid-June 2024, the Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater (Thai Nguyen province) was also bustling with performances of the 2024 National Drama Festival, hosted by the Department of Performing Arts (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).

Hai Phong Theater is expected to become a regular meeting place for tourists and Hai Phong people on weekends.

The continuous artistic activities not only serve the needs of the audience, but also bring vitality to local cultural institutions.

Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hai Phong affirmed that the port city has become a bright spot in the theater sector of the whole country over the past time. The city always pays attention to building and perfecting the system of cultural institutions, serving the entertainment needs of the people. Hai Phong currently has 1 Children's Cultural Palace, 15 district-level cultural, information and sports centers, and 192 commune-level cultural and sports centers.

Hai Phong is one of the localities that has taken drastic actions to bring art closer to a wide audience through regular and quality performances.

“These cultural institutions are places for cultural and sports activities, and are familiar playgrounds for the people. From 2023, Hai Phong City will implement the City Theater Lighting Project. Every Saturday and Sunday, there will be a special art program performed at the theater to serve the people,” said Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai.

In Thai Nguyen, although the Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater built by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has only been in operation for two years, the spiritual life of local people and neighboring areas has been cared for and significantly improved.

Meritorious Artist Le Khanh Toan, Director of the Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater, said that the theater is a major institution of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism located in the center of the northern mountainous region, meeting the great expectations of the Party Committee and people of Thai Nguyen as well as neighboring provinces.

“Since officially opening to the public, the theater has been regularly lit up, with some nights packed with audiences. The performance frequency is maintained at two major events per month. Revenue from ticket sales is estimated at about 2 billion VND, from 2022 to present. The Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater has a capacity of 1,200 seats. However, the theater only sells about 1,000 tickets per performance to ensure the quality of art enjoyment for the audience,” said Meritorious Artist Le Khanh Toan.

Large cultural institutions require a variety of artistic activities to maintain effective operations, ensure customer attraction and avoid waste. With a new institution such as the Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theatre, Meritorious Artist Le Khanh Toan affirmed that operations still face many obstacles.

In fact, Thai Nguyen is not a big city, the number of audiences coming to the Theater is also maintained at a certain level. Therefore, the desire of the Theater's leadership is to build a fixed performance schedule for each month and each quarter.

“The habit of enjoying art by buying tickets to the theater is still not popular. To maintain this habit, the theater must ensure that different types of art are performed regularly, serving many different audiences. In the immediate future, the theater plans to coordinate with 12 central art units. There will be programs to serve the audience on holidays and Tet,” the theater leader shared.

Theater festivals and art performances create vitality for cultural and sports institutions.

Organizing an art festival also helps people pay more attention to the theater. For each major event, promotional communication work usually has to take place a month in advance.

“As a public institution, the Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theatre strives to operate to serve the people in the most meticulous manner, without placing too much emphasis on profit. Each development direction must be considered to ensure compliance with State regulations on the use of public assets, ensuring no capital loss when opening ticket sales,” said Meritorious Artist Le Khanh Toan.

Meritorious Artist Le Khanh Toan, Director of Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater.

Theater leaders believe that cultural institutions not only have the function of organizing art performances, but also need to integrate many types of entertainment, services, exhibition activities, conferences, tourism promotion seminars, etc. This is a suitable direction in the context of theaters having difficulty finding audiences, having to compete with many types of art and the development of smart entertainment devices.

Also concerned with the audience's art enjoyment habits, the leaders of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hai Phong City aspire to both preserve and promote cultural institutions.

Hai Phong Department of Culture and Sports hopes that the City Theater, in addition to its function as a venue for important events, must truly be a place to perform academic and high-quality art.

This idea received support from Hai Phong city leaders, with the desire to turn the City Theater and the adjacent August Theater into regular meeting places for tourists and Hai Phong residents on two weekend nights.

The atmosphere during the first National Theatre Arts Festival for Children and Youth 2024 in Hai Phong was always bustling. People's Artist Xuan Bac, Head of the Jury of the festival, emphasized that one must come to the theater auditorium and witness the atmosphere of the performances to see the excitement not only of the young audience but also of the parents and grandparents who brought their children and grandchildren to watch.

“Before a competition, there was a heavy thunderstorm, pouring rain, making the Organizing Committee and the contestants extremely worried. But when the performance time came, the Hai Phong City Theater was packed with audiences, not a single empty seat. The audience came because of their love for art and also because of the irresistible attraction of the festival,” People’s Artist Xuan Bac shared.

People's Artist Xuan Bac also witnessed his family taking their children to see the show for 3 consecutive nights. Many young audiences, even after watching the entire show, refused to leave and waited for the gift - taking photos with their favorite actors and characters from the Organizing Committee.

Hai Phong has been truly successful in promoting the city’s long-standing cultural institutions. The city’s stage scene has been brightened in the past two years by the number of lit nights and the quality of the plays that have been funded, or by inviting many theaters and performance troupes from all over the country to the port city.

“The most gratifying thing is the change in the audience. From being hesitant to go to the theater, many audiences are excited to book tickets online. The spiritual life of Hai Phong people is increasingly improving,” said Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai.

Ms. Hoang Ngoc Quynh (Thai Nguyen) said that thanks to the theater festivals, many audiences like her have the opportunity to enjoy the art form of spoken theater. “The Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater has just been invested in and built, so it is very new with modern equipment and lively sound. My house is nearby, so whenever the Theater has a new event, I am always excited to participate. The festival will last for many days, I will definitely come to see it,” Ms. Quynh shared.

Watching a performance at the Viet Bac Folk Music, Dance and Singing Theater for the first time, Mr. Nguyen Duy Chien (Thai Nguyen) said that the promotion of the theater festivals was very good. He regularly received information about the festival through social networks. "The 2024 National Drama Festival was strongly promoted to every citizen, so I got the information and decided to come and see it with my friends. After watching today's performance, I will spend more time to see other plays," Mr. Duy Chien excitedly shared.

PV Group

Source: https://tienphong.vn/phat-huy-gia-tri-hoi-sinh-tiem-nang-thiet-che-van-hoa-bai-1-hy-vong-tu-nhung-nha-hat-thuong-xuyen-sang-den-post1646304.tpo