This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts. Việt Nam News reporter Mai Khuyên speaks with Rector Đặng Thị Phong Lan about the efforts to preserve the school's traditional prestige and promote its role in modern fine arts development

What have been the key roles of the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts (VNUFA), from its early days as the Indochina School of Fine Arts (ISFA) to its current status as the country's leading art training institution?

The Việt Nam University of Fine Arts (VNUFA) was established first as the Indochina School of Fine Arts (ISFA) under a decree of the Governor General of Indochina on October 27, 1924. 

The establishment of ISFA played a significant role, serving as a premise for the formation and development of modern Vietnamese fine arts.

Its formation helped create a scientific foundation, enrich national art, be a bridge between traditional and humanity art, and train generations of famous painters and sculptors for the nation.

History has confirmed the continuity of achievements from ISFA to VNUFA through many periods of time. The university has been providing the country with prestigious, skilled, and highly aesthetic fine arts lecturers and artists.

Most of the artists who were awarded the Hồ Chí Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Arts in the field of fine arts were trained at the school.

ISFA's influence and effect are truly enormous, marking a significant turning point for traditional fine arts to transition to an entirely new stage. The combination of French and Vietnamese artistic styles, with the birth of ISFA, marked a period of modern Vietnamese fine arts. From there, Vietnamese fine arts have developed along the national-modern path, integrating into the world of fine arts.

Could you share the most outstanding achievements of lecturers and students at the university, as well as any special projects or initiatives to celebrate the 100th anniversary? 

I myself, as well as the staff, lecturers and students of generations of VNUFA, all feel proud to have been trained in a prestigious professional fine arts institution in the country. We are all looking forward to preparing for this meaningful event.

To celebrate 100 years since establishment, we have strived to complete our tasks from training and scientific research to fine arts creation.

We have successfully organised many activities including seminars, exhibitions of staff and lecturers, and contests for students to increase knowledge about the school's history, thereby showing the role and achievements of VNUFA in training and providing fine arts professionals in the country.

Seminars and conferences held by VNUFA included one international event about the history of the institution. The seminar, held in 2024, attracted the participation of many Vietnamese and foreign researchers, managers, officials, lecturers, artists and scholars. The event heard more than 20 presentations providing quality research, assessments and information about the formation and mission of the school.

Another event, an international conference on 100 years of creating modern fine arts and serving the country, attracted nearly 40 presentations from Vietnamese and foreign authors from Russia, France and Japan.

In addition to seminars and workshops, VNUFA also regularly held exhibitions such as the Spring Exhibition, the exhibition to celebrate Teachers' Day on November 20, and the Student Exhibition to celebrate the Youth Union establishment on March 26.

This year, more special events have been hosted by the school, including "Creative Journeys", marking the first collaboration between VNUFA and its Singaporean partner that gathered many artists from the two countries.

The exhibition not only provided an opportunity for artistic dialogue between the two cultures of Việt Nam and Singapore, but also a meaningful programme to celebrate important and historic milestones.

With the spirit of creativity, education and connection, the event was also a place to display works of art and a space for open dialogue and inspire creativity, empathy and mutual understanding.

VNUFA has hosted a series of exhibitions for many generations of students and lecturers, such as the one manifesting the beauty and importance of patterning in art creations, and another depicting the outstanding drawings and sculptures created through research at the school.

Such exhibitions firmly demonstrate that to this day, despite the use of modern equipment and technology causing significant impacts on the awareness and research capacity of fine arts learners and creators, the role of traditional subjects is vital for fine arts training, and for VNUFA in particular.

In the coming time, many other events will also take place, particularly two large exhibitions themed "100 Years of Vietnamese Modern Fine Arts from School to Museum" and "The Việt Nam University of Fine Arts and Friends", to open on November 14.

What do you think about changes in fine arts in modern society, particularly in the context of globalisation and a boom of digital technology, and how does VNUFA strive to cope with that?

We are operating in a context of profound changes in the country as well as in the world. Globalisation, Industry 4.0 and the development of the creative economy pose new demands on human resources.

Việt Nam's educational innovation policy and cultural industry development strategy give opportunities but challenges as well such as competitive pressure, innovation requirements, shortage of highly qualified lecturers, budget cuts and the risk of falling behind.

To overcome this, VNUFA has identified specific goals to guide the school's development. Its mission in the current period is to pursue a professional fine arts training, provide qualified research and creation environment, nurture talent and produce high-quality professionals for the society. The university aims at a liberal education philosophy, helping learners become more creative, autonomous and ambitious. 

The core values ​​that VNUFA pursues are identity, creativity and humanity. By 2030, the school will maintain its position as the leading fine arts training institution in the ASEAN region and Asia.

VNUFA has maintained its educational philosophy and training tradition from the time of the Indochina Fine Arts period, at the same time continuously learned and innovated to keep up with the trends of fine arts in the world.

With changes in the training programmes and expansion of exchanges and cooperation with domestic and foreign organisations, VNUFA has always accompanied the development of fine arts in the country.

Besides maintaining nearly 100 years' achievements in training to meet social needs, VNUFA has set strategic goals to expand scale and diversify training types, while ensuring improved training quality. It has opened more undergraduate training majors such as Multimedia Fine Arts, Comic Graphic Design and Digital Graphic Design.

It also plans to provide doctoral training programmes in Art Theory and History and build links with other educational institutions. To do this, the university has prioritised developing human resources, recruiting and attracting talent, and perfecting a streamlined and efficient apparatus. It has increased the proportion of lecturers with doctoral degrees, as well as upgraded, modernised and digitised facilities and libraries, ensuring they meet regional standards.

Domestic and international cooperation has also been a key target along with the promotion and enhancement of the school's image to cement its reputation and status in the country and abroad.

As the first female rector of the university with a high status in art training, what do you think about the reality of taking on your role?

Perhaps it's my mission to take on the responsibility of becoming the first female rector during such a historically difficult and challenging time for a school with this kind of legacy. Advantages and difficulties are two sides of the same coin, always going hand in hand. 

I believe that with my responsibility and love for the school where I have been studying and working for nearly 30 years, and with the solidarity of the entire leadership team and all staff, I will complete the tasks assigned by the Party and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

I wish for VNUFA to continue growing in stability and development and develop, worthy of its inherent status and prestige. VNS