Technology connects heritages with community

Visitors experience new technology at the
exhibition of Hang Trong folk paintings

Many types of heritage struggle to impress the public, particularly the younger generation; however, with the support of technology, heritages have been promoted in a completely new way that allows viewers to interact with them.

The introduction of Hang Trong folk paintings through multimedia technology over recent times is a typical example. This method opens up a new direction in promoting heritages, especially to young people.

Hang Trong folk painting art is a unique traditional cultural feature of Hanoians. However, in fact, the paintings for worshipping occupy a large volume, so very few people understand and like this type of esoteric painting. In late November and early December, an exhibition on Hang Trong folk paintings in Hanoi Museum changed the perception of many people. The key factor for the change was the addition of technology.

In addition to 50 Hang Trong paintings in different themes that were created by artisan Le Dinh Nghien and his son Le Hoan, the Ha Noi Museum introduced around 100 folk paintings via multimedia technology, especially the use of 3D mapping. The lights were used to create special 3D visual effects on the contact surface to make blocks of interactive images in a three-dimensional space. The experts digitalised Hang Trong folk paintings and then ‘reproduced’ them with 3D projectors. The combination of 3D images with sound creates beautiful effects which excited the audiences.

Coming to the exhibition, visitors can also ‘interact’ with paintings. The Hanoi Museum coordinated with experts to apply ‘AI deep learning’ technology. Accordingly, artificial intelligence learned about the features and styles of Hang Trong folk paintings to create the images of visitors with the style of Hang Trong paintings.

Vu Thuy Ha, who lives in Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh District, shared: “In the past, I thought that folk paintings were archaic, so it was difficult to enjoy and understand. However, I was very excited about this exhibition. My daughter was also curious and interested in becoming a character in paintings. I believe this method will attract more people to the folk paintings”.

That was the second time the Hanoi Museum has applied 3D mapping technology and artificial intelligence to draw the portraits of visitors before putting them into paintings. Earlier, on the occasion of 65th anniversary of the Capital’s Liberation Day (October 10), the Museum organised a multimedia art exhibition featuring works on Hanoi by famous painter Bui Xuan Phai. Director of Hanoi Museum Nguyen Tien Da said that with the combination of ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ effects, the exhibition could not only serve visitors who wanted to see traditional paintings directly but also reproduce this art forms in a unique way thanks to multimedia technology. At the festival honouring folklore culture in contemporary life at the Ly Thai To flower park from December 13-15, the Ha Noi municipal Department of Culture and Sport continued to introduce Hang Trong paintings with the application of multimedia technology.

Technological advances have been applied more and more widely in promoting cultural heritages around the world, helping them get closer to younger generations. Painter Dang Thi Khue noted that the use of technological applications in introducing heritages is an important turning point in the management and popularisation of culture in contemporary life. The experience of the Hanoi Museum should be further promoted to promote types of heritage, particularly tangible and intangible cultural heritages. However, the application of technological advances is quite costly. At the exhibitions with 3D mapping and AI deep learning, the Museum had to borrow many projectors, so the time for serving visitors was limited. Therefore, a thorough investment from relevant agencies is needed to further promote the role of technology.
Source: Nhan dan online