The value of cultural exchange between Australia and Vietnam
The University of Sydney Vietnam Institute was established with cultural exchange at its heart. Sharing knowledge, cultures, and diversity of perspectives between Vietnam and Australia will lead to a richer understanding, stronger connections, and innovative collaborations that benefit both nations socially, economically, and intellectually.
The University of Sydney's Associate Professor Jane Gavan (Sydney College of the Arts) and Dr Steve Barry (Sydney Conservatorium of Music) are working closely with their networks in Vietnam on some valuable research projects.
Sharing community stories from Wartime Vietnam
Many everyday items were crafted by local communities from war debris, such as this comb and spoon made out of napalm shells.
Associate Professor Jane Gavan is working closely with the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City to engage the community in sharing their stories and lesser seen elements of life during the Vietnam War.
These include the planned exhibition Food and War – Creating and Sharing Community Stories of Gathering, Cooking, and Eating in Wartime Vietnam and Green Sentinels – Exploring Images and Motifs of Plant Life from Wartime Vietnam.
Food and War explores the daily lives of Vietnamese individuals during conflicts through the perspective of food cultivation, preparation, and sharing. Many utensils and other objects were crafted by Vietnamese communities from war debris. By focusing on themes such as sourcing ingredients, traditional recipes, cooking methods, and the communal aspects of food during wartime, the exhibit aims to educate both local and global audiences.
Two notable innovations in Vietnamese food cultures from this period include the ingenuity of the dragon egg women, who developed the dish Bánh Khọt using minimal ingredients, providing nourishment and comfort to soldiers. Soldiers also cooked sweet potato or cassava with peanut shavings as a basic energy source in tunnel complexes. The steam from cooking was sometimes strategically redirected to other underground areas as a decoy to conceal the soldiers' locations.
Green Sentinels sees Associate Professor Gavan establish an artist studio inside the museum to engage with visitors, leading to a solo exhibition featuring a series of wall works reflecting on plant life that survives as a type of living witness in the museum’s many press photographs during wartime.
According to Associate Professor Gavan, the exhibition aims to provide a tranquil respite from the often poignant permanent displays of the museum.
"The Vietnam War is a part of Vietnam’s history within the recent memory of many people, and it is important to share stories of community from that time as a form of healing and acceptance of the past," she says.
These exhibitions are opportunities to enhance local and international views of the Vietnam War and the lived experience of communities and their environments: not only the challenging impacts of war, but how people came together.
Encouraging collaboration and new perspectives
With a focus on sustainability, Associate Professor Gavan has also worked with manufacturing communities in Ho Chi Minh City to offer opportunities for innovative ways of raising productivity and valuing Vietnamese creativity.
Associate Professor Gavan developed a series of artist-in-residence placements within manufacturing communities to bring a new perspective to the factory environment. After spending time in the manufacturing environment, artists saw opportunities to harness the space, equipment and waste for their own projects. In turn, manufacturers saw new methods to reduce waste and increase potential innovation.
In partnership with UNESCO, the research project resulted in the exhibition Manufacturing Creativity being shown at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. The exhibition featured designs and artworks that use clean waste, factory materials and processes in new and unexpected ways.
For Associate Professor Gavan, the project exemplifies how breaking down barriers between creatives and business people can spur productivity.
"Some of these small and medium-sized enterprises may not have had the resources to run innovation or research and development programs," she said.
"The artist-in-residence program shows both artists and business people how they can work together for mutually beneficial outcomes which also reduces waste."
Co-creation and the collision of tradition and improvisation
Ongoing collaboration between Vietnam and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music has resulted in performances to sold out audiences
The benefits of cultural exchange are at the heart of the University of Sydney Vietnam Institute’s objectives.
A partnership between the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Vietnam National Academy of Music is showcasing the benefits of cross-cultural collaboration in music.
"Cross-cultural collaboration like this enables us both to see our own local knowledges through new eyes, and to continue to explore new perspectives, methods, and ways of working in dialogue together," said Dr Barry.
"This dialogue in turn allows us to further amplify the role of the arts - and music education in particular - as a catalyst for innovative creative practice, art products, and diplomacy and cultural understanding more broadly.
"The establishment of the University of Sydney Vietnam Institute will allow us to further leverage networks across Vietnam, resulting in new opportunities for both Australian and Vietnamese musicians".
Led by Dr Steve Barry, since 2022 Conservatorium jazz students have travelled to Hanoi annually to spend a week in residence at the Vietnam National Academy of Music. Students engaged in a series of workshops, masterclasses, and collaborative ensembles, alongside an immersive itinerary of art, music and cultural activities.
The students from both institutions gain lasting networks and benefit from each other's personal experience and local knowledge. The program has resulted in sold out concerts, recordings, and new work in the Australia-Vietnam cultural space.