Entertainment News 21/1 Ho Hung's watercolour exhibition opens in HCM City One of the exhibits in Ho Hung's solo watercolour exhibition Passers By at the Vin Gallery in HCM City from January 22 to February 29. A solo exhibition of watercolour paintings by Ho Hung opens at the Vin Gallery tomorrow. Passers By captures the ephemerality and the subtle sensuousness of the everyday, the gallery said in a release. Dappled light, warm colours and empty spaces characterise Hung's style and his perspective of the landscapes of his homeland, southern Viet Nam, it said. Travelling from place to place and painting on the street, Hung has recorded people passing by and is himself a bystander with respect to his subjects. A technically skilled painter, Hung has exhibited at many shows around the country, including solo exhibitions at the Hue Fine Arts University and the Fine Arts University HCM City. The exhibition will be open from 8.30am to 5.30pm all weekdays until February 29. Vin Gallery is located at 6 Le Van Mien Street, District 2. Painter conducts FVH lecture on printmaking The Friends of Vietnam Heritage will host an English-speaking art lecture, conducted by artist Le Huy Tiep on Saturday, January 23, from 9am to 12pm. Born in 1951 in Nghe An province, Tiep graduated from the College of Industrial Fine Arts in Ha Noi in 1969 before studying at the University of Industrial Art Design in Moscow between 1970-75. In career as an artist, Tiep has been awarded several prizes for his work. He also taught for many years at the University of Ha Noi Industrial Fine Arts. As well as being an exceptionally skilled painter, Tiep has a wide range of printmaking skills, including etching, serigraph, lithography and mono-print. In Saturday's talk in his studio, he will introduce participants to these processes with examples. The attendees will meet at Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower on Pham Hung Street, Nam Tu Liem District, at 8.50am and go to his studio together. Cost: VND400,000. Limit: 10 people. Registration: Maureen, maureen@systemslittlehouse.org Learn about lomographic with Maika Elan Winner of the World Press Photo Contest 2013, Vietnamese photographer Maika Elan, will hold a talk on Saturday at the Goethe Institute Ha Noi. Audiences will learn more about her lomographic work and new trends in photography. Together with arts and culture journalist Fabiola Buchele, Elan will talk about her art and her current exhibition Lomographys at the Goethe Institute. Lomography is a style of analogue photography, playing with the unpredictable image qualities of cheap cameras, like colour changes and negative effects. Elan has been taking photographs with different Lomo-cameras since 2009. Her journey with lomography can be seen in the Goethe Institute until January 28. The free-entry talk will start at 7pm. Languages: English, Vietnamese. Tet market opens at Maison de Tet Decor Maison de Tet Decor will open a Tet market within its artistic venue on Sunday, January 24, from 10am until 4pm,. The event in the French villa on a corner of West Lake will bring together a varied showcase of art, craft and fashion and as well as an organic farmers' market. Visitors can chat with the artists and pick up some Tet items from stalls by the likes of African Fabric Designs, Laurent Severac, Kilometre 109, Better World, Christiane Campioni Jewellery, Maison de Tet Decor Organic Produce, Le Chalet Cafe, Venetia Cushions, GOC T-shirts Vietnam and many more. Maison de Tet Decor locates at Villa 36 (156) Tu Hoa Street, Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho District. For more information, visit tet-lifestyle-collection.com/maison-markets. Japanese ‘noisegrind' band to perform The Sete Star Sept, a noisegrind band from Tokyo, will perform on January 26 at Saigon Ranger as a part of its 2016 Asia Tour. The band, consisting of vocalist and bassist Kae and drummer Kyasu, will perform along with local rockers Wuu band, Ran Cap Duoi and Nguyen Hong Giang. Formed in 2004, Sete Star Sept released its debut album Revision of Noise in 2009. They have performed at international music festivals including Maryland Deathfest, Obscene Extreme Festival Europe and Play Fast or Don't Festival. The show is at 7pm at 5/7 Nguyen Sieu Street in District 1. Tickets are VND100,000. Saigon Outcast to host graffiti performance The outdoor bar Saigon Outcast will host an art and music event on January 30. The event will start at 3pm with a four-hour graffiti performance of local and expat artists. The music show will take place from 4pm till late, featuring DJ duo Cheesy Gangztaz, and DJs Maraphoria and Starchild. The bar will launch its new attractions, including a climbing wall and half pipe at the event. Saigon Outcast is located at 188/2 Nguyen Van Huong Street in District 2. Entrance is free. Dutch DJ Tom Trago to perform EDM concert Amsterdam-based electronic musician and DJ Tom Trago will present a music show at The Observatory on January 30. Trago's performance will feature electronic, house and techno music. It will be supported by resident DJ Nic Ford. Trago, 34, began as DJing at coffee shops in Amsterdam at the aged 15. He released his debut album Voyage Direct in 2009, and has since had two other albums and several extended plays. The concert will be held at 10pm at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Entrance is free before 11pm, and VND150,000 after 11pm. ‘Sunday Funday' mountain bike ride organised The Sunday Funday Mountain Bike Ride on a trail of gravel, mud and small back streets will be held on January 24. The 50-60 kilometre ride will depart from The Bike Shop Vietnam, 250 Nguyen Van Huong Street, in District 2. The event begins at 6:45am and is free of charge. For more information and to register, go to www.facebook.com/thebikeshopVN.  Ha Noi proposes to hold street-lighting contest The department of culture, sports and tourism of Ha Noi proposes to organise a street-lighting contest to choose the best design for decorating the city streets. The department will submit the plan to the municipal people's committee for its approval after the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, the department's Director To Van Dong said. The contest aims to seek the best and most feasible street-lighting designs for festivals and public holidays to attract the local people and tourists. The department has decorated 17 key sites in the capital city, as part of the activities being held to welcome the ongoing 12th National Party Congress and the upcoming Tet festival. Metropole Hanoi ‘rural market’ celebrates Tet Annually the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi holds a ‘rural market’ showcasing traditional foods and culture of Vietnam to international travellers on the occasion of the Tet Lunar New Year— and this year is no exception. On January 29-31 the market will open featuring traditional TET holiday dishes including Banh Chung (square cake), Pho (noodle soup with beef or chicken), bun rieu cua (crab noodle soup), banh cuon nong (steamed rolls made of rice-flour). An exhibition displaying Dong Ho folk paintings, cau doi do (red parallel scrolls), Bat Trang porcelains and lacquer paintings is also on the agenda. Every year our rural market receives positive feedback from travellers says the Metropole, and they especially enjoy the  Banh Chung wrapping, conical hat drawing and bamboo pole dancing contests. Hue to host international circus festival in May Hundreds of circus performers from 20 countries and territories will participate in the International Circus Festival 2016 in Hue imperial city in May. The performers will come from countries such as Australia, Belarus, Belgium and Cambodia, besides Canada and Germany. Vietnamese circus troupes will also participate in the festival to exchange experiences. The acts that will be performed include magic, sport circus, acrobatics and swinging and acts by clowns. Passion motivates circus artists to take risks The circus has always been about performers attempting precarious and daring acts in exchange for the intangible reward of the roar of the crowd. Circus artists have always put their lives on the line for the audience's entertainment. Those working at the Viet Nam National Circus Federation are no different. "All circus acts are dangerous jobs," Tong Toan Thang, a senior artist who is well-known for his python act and is also a veteran circus performer, said. "If you work in this field, you accept the risks." What keeps them going, given the modest incomes and the hardship the job entails? "When the crowds clap their hands and shout your name, it's something we cherish more than anything else," he said. VNS/VNA/VOV