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| The artistic space of Thai Binh Lau |
Sophisticated installation
Thai Binh Lau, and Thieu Phuong garden inside the Forbidden City, provide an excellent setting for the 2024 Festival of Lights. With 12 artworks strategically installed in a surreal and interactive space, everyday artifacts of the heritage become captivating through sophisticated arrangement.
Many first-time visitors to the Festival of Lights were delighted and amazed by the magical atmosphere of Thai Binh Lau, Thieu Phuong garden, thanks to artworks harmonizing the ancient charm of heritage with technological applications, especially the integration of sound and light.
Do Ngoc An Ha, a visitor from Tuyen Quang, expressed enthusiastically: "Attending Hue Festival for the first time, I was quite impressed. The glass lanterns or lotus flowers glowing alongside many LED lights at Thai Dich Lake were beautiful, creating a unique and fresh feeling when visiting the Imperial City at night."
If "Hue by Light" in 2023 dazzled with its music-accompanied spectacle, this year's Festival of Lights focuses on intricate installation based on heritage materials. It offers the public a chance to interact directly with the heritage, in a gentle and delicate manner. "I was eagerly anticipating the experience. And I'm truly satisfied, just as I expected," said Phan Bao Phu, a visitor, after attending the festival.
"Hue Imperial Citadel exudes such enchantment that the French Institute team and me could immediately envision the project: A romantic and surreal journey is a perfect solution that doesn't deviate from its ultimate purpose of honoring historical heritage. I hope the public will come in numbers to enjoy this unique experience," shared AC3 Studio's Technology Director Felix Arguillère.
The construction of this year's Festival of Lights took over a year of preparation by AC3, a French company that illuminated the Noon Gate with a video-mapping performance accompanied by distinctive music earlier in December 2023. From technical diagrams, electrical and electronic systems, visual creativity, and music coordination, a variety of technologies were employed depending on specific installations: smart grid systems through photovoltaic panels, traditional stage lighting systems, video mapping projection, and controlled LED lights (Artnet)...
Technology transferred to Hue
Taking place within the framework of the 2024 Hue Festival, the Festival of Lights is the result of collaboration between French and Vietnamese teams. The French partners oversee artistic direction, content, and technical solutions, developed in collaboration with Vietnamese partners on the spirit of participation and knowledge-sharing.
"Hue heritage has always been a fantastic material for us to foster creation, honoring heritage through traditional collaborations with Hue partners. We believe that our team of friends in the Ancient Capital could soon independently organize festivals filled with poetic charm, yet equally embracing future integration," expressed Sophie Maysonnave, Cultural Cooperation Counselor and Director of the French Institute in Hue, with hopeful expectations.
According to Hoang Viet Trung, Director of Hue Monuments Conservation Center, the French Embassy in Vietnam has been a reliable main partner and companion not only in diplomatic activities but also in promoting cultural exchange and artistic cooperation through Hue Festivals. At the Festival of Lights, audiences could enjoy a light-filled feast combined with meticulously installation artistry by the French team. "A journey that is both educational and interactive yet always prioritizing aesthetic factors. The festival runs until June 20th and is definitely an amazing “check-in” spot of the Imperial City of Hue at night that visitors cannot miss throughout the 2024 Hue Festival," Mr. Trung added.
With the Festival of Lights, once again, efforts are made to infuse vitality and provide new perspectives and experiences regarding heritage. This embodies the spirit of Hue Festival: Always being newness, and a continuous evolution between traditional values and modernity.