In the current of technology and creativity, the young choose not to stand apart from heritage. “Creative Wall –Vietnamese Tales in Motion” is a journey of a new generation — a place where memory, culture, and traditional arts are reimagined through technology, curiosity, and dedication, driven by a deep affection for things old yet never forgotten.
Touching heritage through technology
“Is creative inspiration something we create or something we discover?” That question sparked the founding of Creative Wall – Vietnamese Tales in Motion, a project launched in 2023 by a group of young innovators. Rather than beginning with grand slogans, they started with humble things — a memory, a folk motif, a weathered wall painted by time. The first two years were a period of trial and error, an exploration of how to tell Vietnamese stories in a borderless world.
“Culture is never static. When we touch heritage, we find parts of ourselves reflected in it. When young people take part in retelling traditional cultural stories, heritage comes alive in a different way — closer, more tangible,” said project manager Hoang Hai Ninh.
The Creative Wall - Vietnamese Tales in Motion is envisioned as a “digital wall” — a space where Vietnamese stories are reconstructed through images, patterns, memories, and technology. The “wall” represents a surface of remembrance; the “digital” world, one of infinite variables, allows a single story to take many forms. By combining projection technology, social media, and physical exhibition spaces, the project offers an interactive, multidimensional cultural experience — one in which audiences do not simply look but also participate, touch, and tell their own stories.
At present, Creative Wall - Vietnamese Tales in Motion operates across three primary spaces: art exhibitions, interactive projection screens, and an online presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Here, young people can co-create, learn, and share cultural values through workshops, talk shows, crafts, and open artistic dialogues. “We create opportunities for everyone to personally touch and retell stories about culture. For us, Vietnamese culture truly lives only when it is retold by many people — in many languages, both technological and emotional,” Hoang Hai Ninh said.
Amid discussions on cultural adaptation and appropriation, Creative Wall - Vietnamese Tales in Motion seeks balance — preserving the essence while expanding the form. For that reason, cultural education remains central to all its activities. The young creators behind the project do not wish to turn heritage into static museum pieces but into “living experiences” — things to be touched, seen, felt, and co-created.
Preserving the old spirit with a young soul
From a non-profit initiative, Creative Wall - Vietnamese Tales in Motion has gradually gained recognition within the art community. Several young artists, such as Pham Rong and Le Trong Hoang, joined in its early stages, helping to retell Vietnam’s cultural narratives with freshness and intimacy.
The exhibition On Ancient Walls, Young Vision Calls — held in October at Con Space, Millennium Apartment Complex, 132 Ben Van Don Street, Khanh Hoi Ward, HCMC — marked a key milestone, bringing the project into real life. More than 40 illustrations by young artists nationwide converged to create a space of dialogue between tradition and modernity. Folk motifs, memory-laden images, and familiar symbols of Vietnamese culture were revived through contemporary strokes, digital techniques, and a distinctly Gen Z sensibility — bold, bright, yet reverent toward the past. The event drew a diverse audience from many countries, professions, and age groups, while also raising funds to support communities affected by storms and floods.
Looking back at the project’s journey, one sees a fascinating intersection between tradition and technology, between heritage and the future. Each wall is not merely a surface of images but an “interface” connecting memory and the present. And every young person who pauses before it becomes, in their own way, a storyteller of Vietnam.
“Every experience is a form of storytelling. Every touch continues the tale. As long as we keep telling, Vietnam’s story will never end.” Perhaps that message best captures the project’s spirit.
From a modest idea, Creative Wall - Vietnamese Tales in Motion is evolving into a cultural storytelling movement powered by technology — offering new pathways for engaging with heritage in the digital era. Here, young people are not just viewers but creators, interlocutors, and inheritors. And when they choose to tell Vietnam’s story, culture is not merely preserved — it lives, shines, and continues to spread.
