Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam

Press release -

Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam

This summer's big exhibition at Bildmuseet is the most comprehensive presentations to date of Vietnamese art in Sweden. It fills Bildmuseet with sculpture, video, painting, drawing and installation and has been produced in collaboration with Tran Loung, one of Vietnam's most prominent curators.

Welcome to the press preview on Thursday, 11 June at 10:00
Image above: Nguyen Trinh Thi, Unsubtitled, 2014. Courtesy of the artist.

Mien Meo Mieng translates as 'The land of distortion'. Caution, consideration and contortion are required in order to express one's opinion in Vietnamese society, a reality with origins in the country's history. A serious and critical message is often hidden behind a seemingly innocent and sometimes humorous statement.

The Vietnamese saying "Roll your tongue seven times before speaking” is the thematic origin ofthe exhibition which includes sculpture, video, painting, drawing and installation by 14 artists active in their homeland. Most of the works were created during the past two years and some especially for this exhibition. The works concern such topics as the aftermath of war, freedom of expression, economic conditions, migration and the general vulnerability of the Vietnamese society.

Participating artists are Bang Nhat Linh, Nguyen Huy An, Nguyen Manh Hung, Nguyen Phuong Linh, Nguyen The Son, Nguyen Tran Nam, Nguyen Trinh Thi Nguyen Uu Dam, Pham Tran Viet Nam, Tran Thi Kim Ngoc, Tran Tuan, Trieu Minh Hai, Truong Cong Tung and Vu Hong Ninh. This exhibition presents their works for the first time in Sweden.

The exhibition is produced by Bildmuseet and organised by Hanoi-based Curator Tran Luong and assistant Curator Le Thuan Uyen. A richly illustrated catalogue is under production.

Mien Meo Mieng / Contemporary Art from Vietnam opens on Sunday, June 14th at 14:00 and stays open until 1 November. In conjunction with the exhibition a comprehensive program of artist presentations, lectures, guided tours, films, workshop and educational programs will be held during September and October.

Press preview on Thursday, 11 June at 10:00
Museum Director Katarina Pierre and Curator Brita Täljedal greet welcome and provide an introduction to the exhibition. Artists Nguyen The Son, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Pham Tran Viet Nam, Tran Thi Kim Ngoc, Minh Trieu Hai and Vu Hong Ninh will be present as well as Curator Tran Luong and Assistant Curator Thuan Le Uyen.

RSVP by e-mail to Helena Vejbrink, Communications officer at Bildmuseet.

High resolution images

For further information about the exhibition, please contact

Brita Täljedal, Curator Bildmuseet
brita.taljedal@bildmuseet.umu.se
+46 90 786 7714

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Bildmuseet exhibits contemporary international art, photography, architecture, design and other forms of visual culture. Existential, political and philosophical issues are key to the programme. Bildmuseet received a Special Commendation from the European Museum of the Year jury last year, and was one of the top candidates för the Swedish Museum of the Year Award as well as for the Council of Europe Museum Prize.

Bildmuseet is a part of Umeå University. It is housed in an acclaimed building at the Umeå Arts Campus, right next to the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå School of Architecture and Humlab-X. Umeå university is a multifaced university where studies and research within the creative realm make up an important part of the universty's cornerstone. It is one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 32,000 students and 4,200 employees.

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Helena Vejbrink

Helena Vejbrink

Communication officer Bildmuseet +46 90 786 9073

Umeå University

Umeå University is one of Sweden's largest universities with over 37,000 students and 4,300 employees. The university is home to a wide range of education programmes and world-class research in a number of fields. Umeå University was also where the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 was discovered – a revolution in gene-technology that was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Founded in 1965, Umeå University is characterised by tradition and stability as well as innovation and change. Education and research on a high international level contributes to new knowledge of global importance, inspired, among other things, by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The university houses creative and innovative people that take on societal challenges. Through long-term collaboration with organisations, trade and industry, and other universities, Umeå University continues to develop northern Sweden as a knowledge region.

The international atmosphere at the university and its unified campus encourages academic meetings, an exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary co-operation. The cohesive environment enables a strong sense of community and a dynamic and open culture in which students and staff rejoice in the success of others.

Campus Umeå and Umeå Arts Campus are only a stone's throw away from Umeå town centre and are situated next to one of Sweden's largest and most well-renowned university hospitals. The university also has campuses in the neighbouring towns Skellefteå and Örnsköldsvik.

At Umeå University, you will also find the highly-ranked Umeå Institute of Design, the environmentally certified Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics and the only architectural school with an artistic orientation – Umeå School of Architecture. The university also hosts a contemporary art museum Bildmuseet and Umeå's science centre – Curiosum. Umeå University is one of Sweden's five national sports universities and hosts an internationally recognised Arctic Research Centre.

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