Discovering Hanoi

http://www.tpw.it/2010/kolkata_project_workshop/vietnam.html The soul of contemporary Vietnam is a mosaic of histories. Those that left their mark more than others are the thousand plus years of Chinese domination, French colonialism, and the final push westward in the war of liberation against the United States. However, it is the personality of the Vietnamese that emerges intact overall: proud, indomitable nationalists, flexible and resistant like bamboo. Hanoi is the city that best synthesizes this reality: the least recent history in the Taoist temples, the charm of French architecture and habits, and the desire for American modernization. The millions of motorcycles that flood the streets are the blood of a rapidly-growing body, despite its one thousand years of life. In the semi-darkness of the houses, there are scenes of life that go from one extreme to another. Our workshop wants to try and document this exact variety. Not the distraction of monuments that don’t exist or fading panoramas, but rather the research of human stories that are different, yet parallel. The exploration of different quarters, different souls, and contrasting cultures despite the same past and a common future. To establish a relationship with the Vietnamese is easy. The challenge will be to go beyond, to deepen the acquaintance, gathering it in particularly conspicuous aspects and significant images. In other words, to construct a history of today’s Vietnamese, very far from those represented in post-Vietnam movies on the war (an event that, on the other hand, the young Vietnamese don’t remember at all). Finally, a “dissertation” on Halong Bay, one of the natural wonders of the world. Even the Chinese emperors considered it a tourist destination. For us, it will be a further chance to see how the modern Vietnam deals with tourism. We will spend one day and night on a junk (small boat) and will visit small towns like Cat Ba, which have transformed into small Miami Beaches where kitsch dominates. Practical Information: Dates: March 13-21, 2010 Location: Hanoi/Halong Bay, Vietnam Visa/Passport: you need a Visa to enter Vietnam. Please check with the local Ambassy Workshops costs: Workshop fee € 1400 includes 2 dinners Hotel : we have reserved some rooms at Joseph’s Hotel in the Old City, just behind the French Cathedral. The cost is approx 50 € per night with breakfast. Please let us know if you plan to stay there. Meals: meals will be independent, except as stated above. Eating out in Hanoi will be a fascinating experience… Travel: to Hanoi Noibai Airport If needed, we can arrange transportation airport/hotel. Andrea Pistolesi Born in Florence, Andrea Pistolesi has studied geography at the local University. He still lives here, in this pleace he considers more an inspiration than a city. As as a result of his ceaseless need to travel, Andrea has become a photoreporter specialized in human and environment documentation. He continuously works for Italian and international magazines, such as Islands, Travel and Leisure, Geo, Departures, Hemisphere, Gulliver, Gente Viaggi, Bell’Italia, Airone, Viajar, Rutas del Mundo, and many more. His volumes on exotic destinations have been published together with guides on major European touristic destinations. He is now making a series of books on the major religions of the world edited by Touring Club Italiano. Andrea has become particularly known for his research on the use of light which he combines to a very personal composition of his images. Every year he teaches workshops on profession and carreer and on the use of digital. The approach to artistic photography has been a natural evolution of his professional growth. He has had personal shows both in Italy and abroad. He has participated with a personal show to the VII Biennale of Photography in Turin, Italy, and has gained, in 1998, the price for first Italian at the Fuji European Press Award. He has made commercial reportages for various clients. His interest for the digital elaboration is quite recent, a means which he defines as “the conquest of the dark-room for the photographer of colour”.

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