Kon Tum (VNA) - Kon Tum city, capitalof Kon Tum province bordering Laos and Cambodia, is recognised for a massiveassembly of ethnic groups and their distinctive cultures.

Part of its long history in Central Highlandsculture are rice paintings. The best place to witness these paintings isat Ho village, located at Bac Kan street, Kon Tum city. The village offersvisitors a visual feast in art works.

The paintings vary from calligraphic, thedaily activities of the local people to cultural features of ethnic groups andtheir traditional housing near Dak Bla River and big forests.

Painter Nguyen Kieu Dang, who founded the Hovillage rice painting gallery, said that behind every painting was thehappiness of the makers.

Each painting holds a different spiritual value.To be able to present that value to viewers is the true bliss of artists,” saidDang. “To me, giving soul to a painting is the hardest thing, since onlytruthful and vivid sketches create a good painting. The success of the artworkis also decided based on how the colour of the rice fits into the painting.”

Describing the procedure to develop a ricepainting, Dang said that first, the idea was sketched on paper and then paintedonto hard paper or plywood.

“The key here is choosing the rice and roastingit into different colour tones. Depending on the roasting time, the colour willturn from white to a darker tone, and finally to black. Roasting the rice isalso the toughest part, as we are not allowed to let it burst open, break downor burn. Hands must be steady while roasting so the colour is fresh,” she said.


The rice is then divided into small boxes andplaced around the sketched painting. The artist then overlays the sketch withroasted rice, while picturing the light and dark area to be filled. Thefinishing touch is covering the work with polyurethane, which allows the colourto remain intact.

A completed rice painting must be a perfectcombination of the colours and sizes of the rice. The artist has to master thetrick of putting the rice into the right position, either straight, down orcrosswise.

Visitors to the gallery can observe 10 youngpeople meticulously overlaying the rice on paintings by Dang. Besides painting,she also gives lectures to the poor and disabled young people to help create alivelihood for them.

Nguyen Thị Thanh Thao, who has been working atthe gallery for three years under the guardianship of Dang, nowcreates rice paintings on her own, featuring local cultural highlights.

“I can now complete an entire rice painting onmy own,” said Thao.

Rice paintings by Ho village are well known totourists with artworks displayed at craft villages in Hoi An, Da Nang, Hanoiand HCM City. Several charity foundations in the US have ordered a large numberof paintings priced from 200,000 VND (10 USD) to more than 2 million (88USD), depending on the size.

At present, Dang is implementing a craft villagetourism project at Kon Ktu Village. Her plan is to open one more rice-paintinggallery at the village, so tourists can admire the artworks made by Dang andexperience or create their own rice paintings.

According to Dang, the gallery at Kon Ktu willbe completed at the end of the year and will be open for Tet (Lunar NewYear).-VNA