Exhibition «nhẹ nhàng thôi»

   For three afternoons only, seven independent art spaces in Huế — AirHue, Mơ Đơ, Sao La, Nest, Demedi, Cù Rú and Be Cafe — put their names to a single show: a tribute to the colleague they lost. If you have followed the art scene of Vietnam's former imperial capital at all, this is the chance to see the landmark works of Hoàng Ngọc Tú (1988–2025) gathered in one place. The title, «nhẹ nhàng thôi», means roughly "gently, that's all".

   Tú graduated in painting from Hue University of Fine Arts in 2013. He started out in pop-art-tinted painting laced with satire and social questioning, then widened his practice into sculpture, installation and sound performance. His subjects stayed close to home: personal memory, long-running psychological obsession, and local realities such as displacement, resettlement and environmental pollution. In 2023 he was one of ten artists awarded the Dogma Prize.

   He also co-founded Mơ Đơ, an art space set up to connect and support Huế's cultural community, and sat on the organising committee of the Nổ Cái Bùm art week in 2020. That explains the unusually long list of hosts: between them they are most of the city's independent art map.

   The show suits anyone drawn to contemporary Vietnamese art, art students, and travellers curious about what artists outside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are making. The venue, AirHue Kim Sơn, sits in Kim Sơn hamlet on the southern edge of Huế, past the royal tombs and well away from the tourist streets; it belongs to AirHue, a residency programme hosting Vietnamese and international artists, curators and researchers.

   The schedule comes in two halves: the opening reception on Saturday 8 August runs late, until 20:00, while on 9 and 10 August the doors are open from 15:00 to 18:00 only. The poster was designed by Mốc.

   For any questions, write to [email protected].

   Three afternoons, one quiet goodbye — worth the ride out of town.