French photographer opens free museum displaying Vietnamese ethnic culture

By VnExpress January 23, 2017 | 08:05 pm PT

Portraits of Vietnamese ethnic women at the museum. Photo by Quang Nam Newspaper

The gallery features 200 photos with many portraits of the country’s 54 ethnic groups.

French photographer Réhahn has opened a heritage museum in the central resort town Hoi An, showcasing his five years of exploring Vietnamese ethnic groups.

Precious Heritage Gallery Museum opened last week displaying 200 photos including many portraits of all the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, and more than 30 traditional Vietnamese costumes. The exhibits all come with captions in English, French and Vietnamese.

The museum is open every day at 26 Phan Boi Chau and entrance is free.

Last September, he also held an exhibition in his hometown Normandy, France to highlight the diversity of Vietnamese ethnic culture, from H’Mong and Cham people to the lesser-known Brau community, which only has 400 members in Vietnam.

Réhahn has been living in Hoi An since 2011. He has traveled across Vietnam and reached out to remote ethnic communities. His first photo book about Vietnam – “Mosaic of Contrasts” – was published in 2014, followed by the second volume in late 2015.

Many of his photos honor women. One of the most famous pieces is of Bui Thi Xong, a boat rower on the Hoai River in Hoi An, covering her wrinkled but yet very shiny face as she smiles.

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> The beautiful cultural legacy of Vietnam's fading ethnic minority groups