Temporary Exhibitions

Worshipping Mother Goddess: Pure Heart – Beauty – Joy reflects the spiritual life of women through the voices and experiences of worshippers. VWM collaborated with the community to create a beautiful, meaningful exhibit which presents contemporary life in practicing Mother Goddess’ rituals and conveys a meaningful message: Local cultural values create the long existence of worshipping Mother Goddess – a traditional folk belief of the Vietnamese.

A new contemporary art space was inaugurated at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum (VWM) on July 17, 2013. It is the result of the cooperation between VWM and Menifique Art Museum to enrich VWM exhibits and better meet visitors’ needs. This is the first activity by Menifique Art Museum in a long-term project to link Vietnamese contemporary arts and international arts.

The exhibit “Start-up Journey” showcases 15 outstanding Vietnamese women who had the desire to overcome challenging barriers to their start up businesses.  These women found initial success in the fields of childhood education, community tourism, clean food production, vocational training, career chance, and healthcare for the disabled.

The exhibition introduces70 photographs which record activities of the daily life of the members of Green Living teams in Hanoi and Hoi An. All of these activities contribute significantly to saving resources, reducing garbage and raising awareness of their neighbors. Its message is: I live green, you live green, we all live green. Vivid objects and photographs not only pass on meaningful messages, but also provide a guideline for everyone to live green, simply and effectively.

Through the stories of women who enduredsuffering, both physical and mental , from their husbands, visitors gain a deeper understanding and sympathy for the domestic violence victims.  Vistors learned of the women’s desire and their fortitude to overcome such dire circumstances in order to have a better life. Moreover, the exhibit provides a message of  power and resilience for the community by sharing the stories ofvictims of domestic violence.

The exhibition presents the stories of a typical group of migrants who are representative of thousands of others earning a living in the Long Bien market area in Hanoi.  Day and night, they take part in hard manual labor, working as porters, rickshaw pullers, or carriers, facing many difficulties and challenges while they work. They have no chance to access the latest information and public services. They also face lack of social prestige, discrimination, violence, and injustice, etc.

To overcome their destiny, they still dream of a good future and desire a better life with the assistance of the community as well as other social organizations. The exhibition wishes to give overseas and the domestic public a message: “Join hands to act and eliminate violence”.

The exhibit “Single Mothers’ Voices” was the result of the collaboration between Vietnamese Women’s Museum and the Embassy of the Republic of Finland with the aim to improve the socio-economic position for marginalized women. Stories emphasize the daily struggles of single mothers.  Their credo: “One shoulder but two missions” – sheds light on how they are both mothers and fathers, who are responsible for everything at home while at the same time working in order to provide for their families. The exhibit follows the stories of 18 single mothers from Tan Minh Commune, Soc Son District, Hanoi.  Their stories show how they had to overcome gender prejudice, isolation, loss and hardship. The goal of the exhibition was to raise awareness within the community about barriers and prejudices towards single mothers, and call on the community to eliminate these obstalces and achieve equality for singles mothers.

“Peaceful Place” aimed to give the public a more comprehensive view about trafficking in women and children in Vietnam today through the voices of victims at Peaceful Shelter. The exhibition was broken down into two main contents: Living hard in other countries and Peaceful Places. The exhibiton introduced real stories about the pain experienced and their dreams of coming back to the mother land and reintergrating into the community. At the same time, the exhibition also brought a message to the public about the sympathy, sharing, and the help from the community to victims at the Peaceful Shelter. Peaceful Shelter is considered to be an effective model where victims receive comprehensive support to improve their spirit, and health, and also receive training for future work opportunities. Therefore, they are more confident to reintergrate the community.

Our prosperous nation’s development contributed by both young and old Vietnamese women has never been more  beautiful and glorious

Ho Chi Minh

Liberating women is a key part of the liberation of the working class, and liberation of the nation, something that interested Uncle Ho greatly. The exhibit “Uncle Ho and the Vietnamese Women’s Liberation Movement” displays historic and beloved images, as well as, stories of Uncle Ho and Vietnamese women during their course of defence, protection and development of the nation.

The exhibition is based on memories and narratives of female cilvians who took part in transporting weapons and food for Dien Bien Phu Campaign, a significant historical event of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians during the resistance war against the French colonialists. During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, General Vo Nguyen Giap was victorious over the French and brought victory to the nation. The people –  civilians and soldiers, were very brave and courageous fighting during the resistance war, and overcame hardship and difficulties. They shared emotions and responsibilities with their friends and comrades in arms and even their personal love with the goal of giving everything for the battle campaign to gain  victory.