Tuesday 11 December 2012

12/12/12 – 12th December 2012



The Saigon Creative Mornings have had a hiatus due to location change. We aim to start fresh again in January 2013, more posts will follow with further information.

Today's post is a guest blog from Malin Kihlström, a Swedish copy writer and photographer who is passionate about giving back. She has shared with us a video, localized for Vietnamese language, to help inform about the terrible impact Rhino poaching has. Please read what Malin has to say:


About the Rhino Project: I got in touch with the African Conservation Foundation a while ago through Facebook, offering them to help out and consult on marketing issues on a voluntary basis. Our recent project is to release a Vietnam version of a video animation that was made for the World Rhino Day. Among other things, we are trying to get bloggers - like you - onboard, asking them if they want to share this video and be part of this very important project.

I believe that bloggers are very strong opinion builders and role models to young people and we are hoping that you will make people understand the importance of this and also make the video a viral "talk of the town". It is of utmost importance to make a change in the attitude towards the use of rhino horns, and I believe that young people are more open towards new facts than older people.

The video is being distributed to all embassies of the supply and demand countries and their governments are urged to take effective measures to halt the trade.

Why is the rhino close to extinction?: The rhino is being hunted into extinction because of human appetite for their distinctive horns. In Vietnam, rhino horn is mainly a recreational (party) drug and used by affluent people as a detoxifying beverage and body-rejuvenating tonic. Scientific studies however proved that rhino horn has no medicinal value. Rhino horns are composed largely of the protein keratin, also the chief component in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves. In short, you’d do just as well chewing on your fingernails.

The use of rhino horn has devastating effects in Africa. Rhino poaching, in South Africa alone, now accounts for 1.6 animals per day. This comes down to 1 rhino poached every 15 hours. More than 500 rhinos could die this year if current poaching rates continue. Rhino poaching has increased with 3750% in South Africa between 2007 and 2012. The only way to stop this is to stop the demand for the horns.

About the ACF: The African Conservation Foundation is working towards the protection and conservation of Africa's endangered wildlife and their habitats. Founded in 1999, ACF fills a unique niche by creating an Africa-wide network for information exchange and capacity building of conservation efforts in the region. ACF's goal is to support and link African conservation initiatives, groups and NGOs, with the aim of strengthening their capacity, building partnerships and promoting effective communication and co-ordination of conservation efforts.

If you would like more information about the ACF you are more than welcome to contact the director Arend de Haas - info(at)africanconservation(dot)org

About Malin Kihlström: I have a degree in marketing and copywriting and I have worked in advertising for many years. At the moment I am working for an advertising agency in Malmö and I have worked with clients that vary from local businesses to high-profile companies like Daimler-Chrysler, Henri Lloyd and the Swedish Football Association. I have also recently set up my own photography business. My interest in conservation issues is deeply rooted, having grown up in the countryside surrounded by wildlife.

I have a great passion for traveling and my travels have brought me to many parts of the African continent, where I have seen some of the problems that surrounds wildlife conservation. Conservation in Africa has changed quite a bit in the last years and it's now a struggle to save the few wild pieces from poachers, developers and the resource extraction industries. After years in the marketing business I grew to realize that I wanted to use my knowledge in marketing for "a better good" - not just helping big companies earn even more money.

I have therefore, on a voluntary basis, become involved in different conservation organizations that I have been getting to know during my travels and through the Internet.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Saigon Creative July event review




A new month, a new topic and a new location. Despite serving great coffee, the meet up at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was the smallest we have ever held, but it proved to be a highly interesting and lively discussion. So much, that we happily ran into overtime and had doubled the time in a blink of an eye.

Stories about monks facing their fears by tying themselves in tree tops staring down into the abyss when waking up in the morning to meditation in Indian prisons and a lot more.

A big thank you to the ones turning up, hope to see more of you next time. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming August event.







Tuesday 24 July 2012

Saigon Creative July event



Profile
Minh, with a background in Buddhist Studies & meditation, has been working and living in Vietnam for the past 5 and a half years running events, teaching, and playing music.

Topic: 
5 New Things that You Didn't know about Meditation. 

Minh will take us through the latest neuroscience research on meditation and his take from the Zen Buddhist side of meditation.

For artists, this will be a fascinating talk for people who want another glimpse into the mind and brain they use to create.


Tuesday 19 June 2012

About architecture, dialogue, ethic and art



 


It was really worth waiting for Tereza and Charles’ talk last week.  

The audience mainly consisting in non-architects was enlightened on the whole process of an architectural work, from the first discussion with a client  to the final construction. Tereza and Charles made us realize how complex this process is, ranging from a full analysis of the client’s needs, taste and budget through a permanent dialogue, up to the cooperation with authorities, engineers and contractors…

We discovered also what makes their agency T3 Architecture unique. It is this specific character in their work which is so exemplary in a developing country:  they have an ethic.  Their ethical rules include harmony with the environment, respect of people, promotion of natural and local materials and use of low energy systems.

A surprising thing in their work is that there is also something close to art experimentation sometimes, like when they decided to lay cortene steel boards under an olive tree to create a chemical reaction between the dripping oil and the steel before using the boards for the façade of a house in Provence. It is  probably this common taste for experimentation with some artists and the conscience that boundaries between creative fields are so narrow that have brought  them to conceptualize and build “la boite”, a simple wood box of 2 x 2 x 2meters that they put at contemporary artists’ disposal to be used at their own convenience.

Once again, a very interesting talk to listen to for those who could wake up early that morning…

Monday 21 May 2012

Review Saigon Creative May event



This month we had a visit from the multi-talented Thai Nguyen who currently owns L'Usine, the fashionable coffeeshop on Dong Khoi street. Today, he talked about his career which rose from a background in design into the film industry into fashion and finally into venture capitalism. The casual dialogue he lead opened up into a discussion about how do you introduce a new product into the market and how one can steer one's creative energies and goals amidst the sea of circumstances one is bound to meet in one's career. Yet another interesting talk at Saigon Creative and an interesting group of people as always


Anh-Minh Do

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Saigon Creative May speaker: Nguyen Quang Thai



Entrepreneur + Creative & Strategic Director

Over 17 years of world-class experience in Graphic Design, Art Direction, Branding, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Personal Ventures 2009-present: Open a restaurant in nyc called “An Choi NYC”. Open retail/café in HCMC called Lusine. Open a product/design lifestyle brand called Sweet&Sour (Bakery, Cupcakes, Candles)

2010-2012: Became partner at IMS marketing, an event / PR / activation agency.

2010-present: Marketing Director for IDGVV, a Venture Capital company. Work with start-up companies like YanTV, SaigonHeat, Subway, WebTreTho, etc….

2006-2009: Started a digital marketing studio called “Liquidline” and produce a social networking website “yobanbe.com”. Sold to Vinagame in 2008. Created the Zing Brand and platform for VNG. 

2004-2005: Executive Producer of the feature movie “1735km” produced by Ky Dong Productions

2001-2004: Art Director at JWT Vietnam & Deutsch, Inc NYC; 

1999-2000: Co-Founder of a NYC web agency called “Office for    Fun & Profit”

1995-1999: Designer/Art Director for Red Sky/BMA associates NYC.

Thai has designed, directed, managed and produce untold numbers of projects for clients such as Unilever, Altoids, News Corporation, PaineWebber, Reebok, Neiman Marcus, PlayStation, Nickelodeon DowJones to name a few. 

His work has been awarded and published by the AIGA, Communication Arts, Print, The AR100, Mead Annual Report Show, Type Director's Club and Graphics. 

Thai holds a BA in Fine and Applied Art major in graphic design at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign




Monday 7 May 2012

Review: Yves' photographic journey

Yves before kicking off the lecture

Photography being a passion of mine, I was looking forward to Yves presentation. He attended the previous month and gracefully agreed to do a presentation himself.

I noticed Yves' work long before I had the chance to meet him in person. His photography evokes wonders and feelings, taking you away from the road of glossy and airbrushed perfectionist treatment.

For those who attended, we all got a glimpse into the working methods behind Yves' stunning images and for those of you who missed out, please sign up on for the email letter and receive notifications straight to your inbox and join us next time.

It is well worth checking out his book, you can follow this link here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2419570

Colour distortion by the projector
Unfortunately, we had to borrow a new projector and it did not do the images justice as the capture came out all wrong. Yves has kindly sent a few of his samples from the session for us to display here as well as sending his best regards to everyone that came.







Thursday 12 April 2012

Saigon Creative April Event – Yves Schiepek




"Yves' journey to Vietnam really began when he was inspired by scenes of Vietnam in a film. The landscape and the entwining stories of Vietnamese and water buffalos moved him. He traveled from the North to the South and back.

Half of the distance Southwards, he traveled by bicycle, at times on bumpy roads and upward inclines. Traveling by bicycle allowed him to "take in" his landscape - houses, trees fields, sky, people. He kept an eye out for the magical scene of a water buffalo submerged in water."

– from Yves' book

Yves will start his talk with a brief introduction to his journey in Vietnam in 2009 and then talk about his photos and the technics he uses to create some of them.

Join us for the conversation on Friday the 20th April, see you all there!


Tuesday 27 March 2012

March event pulled off by the help of Sandrine


Sandrine pulled it off. One day to prepare and she stepped up to the challenge. Well done.

As always, new motivational tidbits was posted around the office...


...and new faces joined the Friday morning crowd.



Artwork was viewed by both printed samples and projections.





Until next month, enjoy the end of the month holiday!

Wednesday 21 March 2012

The show must go on – Friday is still on!

Our original speaker line up had to cancel in the last minute due to the loss of a family member. We all feel sympathy for the unforeseen and tragic circumstances and are sending our condolences to the family.

After an internal discussion, we decided to let "the show go on" and be true to our aspirations of providing a monthly get together, but with a different speaker, this time our own Sandrine Llouquet.

We hope to see you all on coming Friday!


Sergueï Constantinovitch Pankejeff

Pencil, China ink, watercolor on paper (70 x 50cm), 2012
courtesy Galerie Quynh

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Talk postponed

Sorry, sorry... we have to postpone Tereza and Charles Gallavardin's talk. We will keep you inform as soon as possible!

Tuesday 6 March 2012

In March: Tereza and Charles Gallavardin (T3 Architecture)


Our speakers this month will be the duo of architects Tereza and Charles Gallavardin.

Specialized in low energy buildings & sustainable planning as well as in ecological & bioclimatic architecture in Europe, Tereza and Charles have decided to bring their knowledge to Asia to promote Green Architecture and Sustainable Urban Development, working closely with renewable energy / energy efficiency engineers from the Concept Design stage till the end of the construction. With the architect Thang Le Hoang, they created T3 Architecture Asia (based  in Ho Chi Minh city). T3 Architecture Asia is the Asian branch of T3 Architecture based in Marseille (France).

They will present some of the key projects by T3 Architecture and speak about their philosophy based on the respect of people and landscape, social mix, environmental issues, quality and sustainability.

They will also speak about the “BOITE” (“BOX”) project, a collaborative project with contemporary visual artists.

More infos about Tereza and Charles Gallavardin, T3 Architecture and the “BOITE” project here:
www.t3architecture-asia.vn
http://www.complexmarseille.fr/galerie_d_art_complex_marseille_2010.html

If you want to attend the talk, please register.
See you on Friday, March 23th!



Friday 24 February 2012

Nhu Huy, the "facilitator"



So this morning, we had the chance to hear Nhu Huy talking about his experience of being an artist, curator, writer and about his constant efforts for many years trying to create a new dynamic in the Saigonese art scene.

Nhu Huy told us about the notions of pre-production, production and postproduction, notions that he borrows from the movie industry vocabulary, as firstly did the French art theorician Nicolas Bourriaud in his essay “Postproduction. Culture as screenplay: How art reprograms the world”. When most art galleries in Vietnam will focus on “post-production” (exhibitions, talks…sells…), Nhu Huy, with “Zero Station” (the alternative art space he launched in 2010), will encourage and support artists during the whole process of creation, from meetings, discussions, research… to the production of art works and then exhibition.

He highlighted also the social role of an art space located in a popular area by telling us anecdotes about the interaction between the artist/art work and the neighbors, local authorities, audience, other artists and intellectuals.

If you missed this one and want to know more about Nhu Huy and Zero Station, come to visit his website: http://www.zerostationvn.org , you will also find all the information you need  to get there, see some art, meet artists and eat “Pho” (the one served next door is supposed to be the best in town!).

Friday 10 February 2012

Our Feb speaker is Nguyen Nhu Huy of Zero Station!


After taking January off (mostly due to the holiday), we'll be kicking off the year of the Dragon with Nguyen Nhu Huy as our speaker.

Huy is currently managing ZeroStation, a house for creativity. Zerostation is a project-based art space which includes studio space, exhibition space, and an art residency program.  The main mission of ZeroStation is to create more opportunities for dialoguing, thinking, and working in art-project forms among young artists in HCMC and beyond. 

Huy will be speaking on the topic of what inspires him about the contemporary art scene here in Vietnam. 

A graduate of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts, he's worked with various mediums from installation art to paintings, photography, video art and public art. 

In 2004, Nhu Huy was co-founder of a little blah blah, the first initiated artist run space in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Since 2003-2005, Nhu Huy has been co-founder and editor of first Vietnam independent online art magazine, www.vnvisualart.com. 

He's also is an independent curator, critical writer, and a poet.  His most recent curating project has been “ Art in Marathon”, a public art project that took place over the course of three months in some public spaces here in Ho Chi Minh City in late 2007.

In 2008, he helped develop, “Xin Chao, My Darling” a group show introducing artworks of 16 Young Vietnamese artists in Korea.  That same year, his poetry collection, "The Complex Sentences” was published.

He has written, translated and published widely on Vietnam Contemporary art, culture, and art theory. He's been invited to be a guest speaker at the first international symposium on Vietnamese Art, “ Vietnam art post-doimoi”, held at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM).  In 2009, He was invited to participate in the Asian Curator Conference, organized by the Japan Foundation in Singapore and Malaysia.  More recently, Nhu Huy contributed his writing for catalogue of the exhibition, “ Video, an art, a history”, organized by the Pompidou art center in Paris and the Singapore Museum of art, the IFA catalogue for the exhibition, “connect: Kunstszene Vietnam”. 

He's also a member of the international contemporary art project, ”Hochiminh trail”  organized and curated by the Long March Project in China.

He's been published in the Yishu, Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, having a conversation with Viet Le titled : “Transnationalism in Translation”.

Huy often focuses on the ambiguous spaces located in the gap between past and present, public and private, what we see and what we know, what can be spoken about and what can only be shown, etc..  His art projects take relational aesthetics as their theoretical and practical departure, always trying to create the platforms where audience and artist, art and everyday life, can encounter each other in many different forms of dialogue.

Contact in Vietnam:
Cell: +84(0)903747779
Website:www.zerostationvn.org


Wednesday 8 February 2012

Saigon Creative December event – a review.


December. End of the year and the coming of another. Our December event was our 12th event, a milestone that pessimists doomed too far away to reach, while optimists can easily count beyond that. However, a break was needed as January was more or less a Tet celebration and "Tetlag" surfaced once January drew to an end.

While we all await the next announcement, we can start the first post of the Lunar New Year with our summary from December.

December was the month where we got a glimpse behind the printed page and a broader view of the publishing industry in Vietnam.

Print is very much alive and the sheer number of magazines in circulation in Vietnam is proof enough. Nick Ross at The Word magazine gave us a thorough walkthrough.

We have all heard of "Freedom of the press", but what was interesting was when you start asking the question of freedom versus corporate interests. Having guidelines of what you can do and not do versus a board of directors wanting profit and thus seeking more sensational stories. A coin still has two sides. Another interesting
part was "The Cult of Beauty" and how Vietnam has projected itself as a beautiful country, including the tourism slogan "Vietnam – The hidden charm". This is what in the past was acceptable to write about this country.

However, over the past few years, some Vietnamese newspapers have pushed the frontiers and other "hidden charms" are now surfacing on both their Vietnamese and English language online editions. Restrictions leads to creativeness, or as in a creative brief, the more constraints, the easier is the process to find a solution that works within those parameters. In addition, the Vietnamese language is a very rich language and open to a wide range of interpretations and you will have readers reading between the lines.

So restrictions, creativeness and competition for readers bring you the need to improve. Survival of the fittest and much, much more.

As always, be there and get it first hand, direct from the source. Hope to see you all at the next Saigon Creative event!


Cover samples

Intro

Preface

The Cult of Beauty

"You can cage the singer, but not the song"

Striving for excellence

Nick Ross

Xmas tree, Vietnamese style