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Interview
 The
Bui Xuan Phai Foundation, named after
the venerable painter, was launched on
the occasion of his 20th death
anniversary on June 20. Bui Xuan Phai
was well-known for his paintings of Ha
Noi’s Old Quarter and highly respected
for his strong values. A vast collection
of his work can be found in many
galleries around the world. The painter
received the highest national award, the
Ho Chi Minh Prize, posthumously in 1996.
Culture Vulture sat down to talk with
his son, artist Bui Thanh Phuong, about
the foundation he set up to commemorate
his father’s contribution to art.
Why did you choose to launch the
Bui Xuan Phai Foundation 20 years after
the painter’s death? What is its
mandate?
 The
foundation was set up by myself and one
of the largest art collectors of
Bui Xuan Phai’s works, Tran Hau
Tuan.
I wanted to set up the foundation about
10 years ago but I lacked the finances
and the support from my family that I
needed. In the beginning my purpose was
to make the foundation popular. The
first person I turned to discuss funding
was art collector Tuan. He immediately
agreed and said "my father gave me life
but Bui Xuan Phai gave me a lifetime of
[his] work." For me, Phai bequeathed me
both.
I must emphasise that we raised funds as
a way to express our gratitude to Phai
for many of his great contributions to
Vietnamese art.
I think most projects need time before
they can become a reality. We decided
that his 20th death anniversary was the
right time to launch the foundation as
he is a well-known artist on a global
level.
Where does the foundation get its
financial support from?
The
foundation has an initial investment of
US$30,000, made by Tuan and I. This sum
has been deposited in the bank and we
will use the yearly interest towards
setting up the Bui Xuan Phai Prize. The
prize is not much, about $1,000, but we
hope to increase the value of the prize
every year.
Tell us more about the prize. What
prompted you to start it?
The
Bui Xuan Phai Prize is being created in
a bid to encourage new painters to work
for the country and for their beloved Ha
Noi.
We plan to mobilise and raise funds from
both Vietnamese and foreign friends who
share a love and appreciation for Phai.
Additionally, we will raise money from
auctions and exhibitions.
In future, we hope to expand the
foundation’s platform to offer
scholarships in Phai’s name. We want
more artists to be awarded this prize.
When do you plan to award it?
The
prize will be awarded on September 1,
each year, on the artist’s birthday. All
work in fine arts as well as literature
centering on Ha Noi will be considered.
Both of us are very busy with our
personal affairs so we cannot look up
the artists’ activities. Luckily, we
were introduced to the editorial board
of The Thao & Van Hoa (Sport &Culture)
newspaper who will assist us in the
operation and holding of the award
ceremony. We have met the newspaper’s
editor-in-chief Ngo Ha Thai twice to
discuss the first ceremony.
The awarding ceremony will be held at my
house. I want people to be able to see
for themselves where the artist was
born, lived, worked and eventually died.
This will bring people closer to
understanding him and what influenced
him.
Have you decided on the recipient
of the award?
We have not decided yet. It may be
painter/journalist Nguyen Thu Thuy for
her work Ceramic Road. Her piece was
created to commemorate and celebrate the
1,000th birthday of Thang Long, the name
of the old capital. — VNS
Vietnam new :
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01INT100708
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