Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approves for the project “Dong Ho folk painting” to submit UNESCO

The crowd of local inhabitants and tourists learn about Dong ho folk paintings in the program of singing Quan ho folk songs on boats

Accordingly, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved the proposal of Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee on making the dossier of “Dong Ho folk painting” and inviting Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies to cooperate and consult in carrying out the above task.

After receiving the official document of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee assigned Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in cooperation with Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, and relevant sectors and agencies to make and complete dossiers to submit relevant authorities.

Dong Ho folk painting is a form of folk woodcut prints, one of the traditional handicrafts, which has been created and developed for hundreds of years by local inhabitants in Dong Ho village, Song Ho commune. With the entire natural materials, these paintings show warm and close colors that cover very special values on not only arts but also culture, history.

Making scientific dossier of Dong Ho folk paintings to submit UNESCO for the recognition of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding plays an important role to preserve and promote handicraft villages’ cultural values and to enhance awareness of local people in keeping traditional, cultural values in general at the same time.

Vietnam has boasted for 12 cultural features recognized by UNESCO as the intangible cultural heritage of humanity so far including Vietnamese court music in Hue, Space of gong culture, Quan họ Bac Ninh folk songs, Ca trù singing, Gióng festival, Worship of Hùng kings in Phu Tho province, Art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Viet Nam, Ví and Giặm folk songs of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, Tugging rituals and games, Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, The art of Bài Chòi in Central Vietnam, Xoan singing of Phu Thọ province, especially Bac Ninh owns 2 representative heritages, which are Quan họ folk songs and Ca trù singing.