Mural Villages in Vietnam are the Hottest New Destinations

Artists from South Korea have given Tam Thanh fishing village in central Quang Nam Province a new look with colourful murals.

In early June 2016, Tam Thanh Village in Tam Thanh Commune was chosen for an art project as part of the Korea Foundation Community Art Exchange Programme held by the Korea Foundation and the UN-Habitat Vietnam to improve living conditions and introduce more art to the public.

Five artists from the South Korea, 12 volunteers and many Vietnamese students have given the walls of about 100 houses a new face.

Even the locals are also excited about the arts on their houses and volunteered to help. From the village gate to the many houses, the community seems livelier with pictures of a genie, flowers and daily activities.

The village has become a new tourist destination.

The popularity of the mural village a rival mural village also inspired another project An Binh Islet, Ly Son District, Quang Ngai Province. 

There are 18 paintings on the islet, which is fewer than Tam Thanh, but these masterpieces were painted by Vietnamese volunteers whereas those in Tam Thanh were all daubed by South Korean artists.

The murals are the result of a project themed “I love the sea and islands/Born to live wild”, co-organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Ly Son Marine Protected Area in early June.

Only 11 murals were planned at the beginning, but locals decided to try their hands and the number rose to 18. Hong Minh, a volunteer, told VnExpress that it took 10 artists 10 days to complete 10 paintings, after which volunteers stepped in and started working on railings and water jars.

Local authorities hope the paintings will change local people's attitudes towards the marine environment, especially to wild animals. The murals should also lure more tourists to Ly Son.

Source: Vietnam Net Bridge | VnExpress