An exhibition "A Dialogue between Calligraphy and Graffiti" opened at Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) in Hanoi on August 26. For the first time, traditional writing art is combined with a street art imported from abroad.

Calligraphers and graffiti artists perform on the same work at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

At the opening ceremony, the visitors enjoyed seeing calligraphers with brush, Chinese ink and graffiti artists with spray paints working together on a common paper frame.

For generations, calligraphy has always been known as an elegant hobby of the educated people who are good at penmanship and passionate about literature. Meanwhile, the image of graffiti-covered walls often evokes in people's minds images of young naughty people wanting to express themselves.

The exhibition draws many visitors at different ages.

The exhibition is an interesting dialogue of two types of compositions that seem to be difficult to find a common voice because of differences in aesthetic perceptions, language and materials.

Participating in the creation of works for the exhibition are many prominent young faces in the field of calligraphy and graffiti from Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The exhibition lasts until September 30 at the Temple of Literature, Hanoi.

The authors brought to the exhibition 39 works of both types, the content revolved around the themes of teacher-disciple tradition; self-study; books and reading culture; Temple of Literature; Vietnam and famous scenic spots.

“A lot of people would think it's not easy to find a common voice between us because we're so different. But if you put prejudices aside, you will see that we also share many interests. Indeed, we both love creation and take care of every pen stroke,” said calligrapher Ngau Thu.

The works are creative in terms of expressing artists' ideas.

“Our meeting consists of four stages. We first start by meeting, then talking. Then, we exchange ideas before finally finding mutual understanding. By joining us in this conversation, you will find the secret of a successful dialogue which is in fact perfectly simple: respect for the differences,” he said.

The event is organised by the Centre for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature in collaboration with the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts.

According to Dr. Le Xuan Kieu, Director of the Centre for Cultural and Scientific Activities of Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, this is the result of a project of composing and displaying calligraphy combined with graffiti. The idea is to make Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam  a creative space, a familiar destination for the public who love heritage, culture and art.

This is an opportunity for these two art forms to dialogue, co-create and come closer to the public, giving viewers new, positive and close experiences and perspectives for both disciplines.