This place sowed the seed of excellent generation of artisans with unparalleled skill of craftsmanship and continued to have a considerable contribution to prolong and protect the precious heritage passing down by ancestors. Some remarkable artist with their breakthrough achievements are conductive to reinforcing the value of ceramic as an utterly delicate fine art. Bát Tràng Museum is a place which is beautifully written with stories by its own people, proudly told by its own people and sincerely preserved by its own admirers.
Born in 1955, Vũ Đức Thắng (aka Vũ Thắng) was raised in Bát Tràng Village. After graduating in graphic design at Hanoi’s University of Industrial Fine Art, in 1980, Vũ Thắng dedicated his career to gathering integral knowledge of fine arts. As an expression of his inner thoughts and feelings, Vũ Thắng’s creations combine the quintessence of traditional landscapes with a contemporary philosophy resulting in highly creative and unique pieces.
Vũ Thắng is a Master of engraving, embossing, enameling, and glazing ceramics. To master these abilities, an artisan must learn how to combine feelings with experiences to express a predetermined idea. These skills serve as a measure to evaluate the talent of a potter.
Throughout his almost 50-year-long career, Vũ Thắng continuously researched and experimented with techniques while prioritizing materials sourced in Vietnam. He drew inspiration from traditional designs and motifs such as lotus flowers, carp fish, clouds found in antique lamps, incense burners, and water hyacinth vases. Vũ Thắng skillfully engraved those motifs on ceramics, enameling them delicately with layers of colors. This process created depth and a bold expression that became Vũ Thắng’s signature trait.
His creative journey never stopped as he was dedicated to integrating pottery into modern culture and lifestyle. At the end of 2011, Vũ Thắng created an extraordinary collection of 10 fashion boots made from Bát Tràng ceramic. The collection was displayed at the 10th edition of the Đẹp Fashion Show, attracting the fans’ highly-favorable response. Later, it was certified as “The largest ceramic shoes collection in the country” by the Guinness World Record authority.
2024, Selected to be on the Google Arts & Culture platform (Bát Tràng Museum)
2023, Be honored as “New Organiser” by HanoiGrapevine’s Finest (Bát Tràng Museum)
_
2020, People’s Artisan (posthumously)
2014, Vietnam Talent Award
2010, Meritorious Artisan
2006, Vietnam Star Award
2004, Vietnam’s Elite prize at the fair of handicrafts and cultural products
2003, Hanoi Artisan
2002, Vietnam Star Silver Award at Vietnam Fine Arts Fair
1999, Golden Hand at Indochina Art Program by Vietnam Fine Arts Association and Vietnam Cooperative Alliance
2024, “25 Years of UNESCO and Hanoi: From “City for Peace” to “Creative City”, Group Exhibition, Capital Art House, Hanoi.
2023, Exhibition [Ô: The Body of Art], Group Exhibition, HCMC
2023, Exhibition “Substance”, Organiser, Casa Italia, Hanoi
2022, Exhibition “A Blink in spacetime”, Group Exhibition, The International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE), Quy Nhon
2022, Exhibition “The Bát Tràng Ceramic Boots”, Solo Exhibition, Casa Italia, Hanoi
–
2016, Craft Village Exhibition at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Hanoi
2014, Hue Festival, Hue
2013, Vietnam Record Book Center; The set of works “The largest ceramic shoe in Vietnam in 2013”, HCMC
2011, Đẹp Fashion Show, HCMC
2010, Exhibition “Bat Trang Pottery – Traditional and Modern”, 1000th Anniversary of Thang Long, Hanoi
2010, Exhibition of poetry on pottery – 1000th anniversary of Thang Long Hanoi, Temple of Literature, Hanoi
2009, The 2nd National Exhibition of Applied Fine Arts, Vietnam Art and Culture Exhibition Center, Hanoi
2007, Vietnamese and French Cultural Festival
2006, Restoration and construction of the communal house of Bat Trang village (Head of construction and restoration department), Hanoi
2004, “Thang Long – Hanoi Fine Artisan Festival”, Vietnam Art and Culture Exhibition Center, Hanoi
2004, Hue Festval, Hue
2003, Welcome to SEAGAME Ceramic Exhibition, Hanoi
2002, Hue Festival, Hue
2000, Hue Festival, Hue
1997, Bat Trang Ceramic Exhibition, Solo Exhibition, Hue
1992, Exhibition of Ceramics and Paintings, Group Exhibition, HCMC
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Ministry of Industry and Trade
Department of Cultural Heritage
Bat Trang Ceramics Association
Vietnam Craft Village Association
Painter Vũ Hiền
Mr. Phạm Văn Mai
Mr. Nguyễn Văn Hiệp
Mrs. Trần Thị Yên
Mrs. Phùng Thị Thịnh
Mr. Vũ Đức Lợi
Director Trần Anh Hùng
Artist Trần Nữ Yên Khê
Pottery Artisan Lê Hồng Hải
Journalist Vũ Thị Tuyết Nhung
Journalist Doãn Trà My
Journalist Nguyễn Quang Huy
Journalist Thuỷ Lê
Journalist Lê Hồng Lâm
sgnhA
Architect Trần Quốc Khôi Nguyên
Architect Nguyễn Đức Tuấn Anh
M — N Associates
Nguyễn Bảo Anh Duy
Mai Ngọc Quế Lan
Nguyễn Thế Anh
Arb Architects
Architect Nguyễn Hà
Nguyễn Thu Trang
Hanoi Grapevine
Trương Uyên Ly
Nguyễn Tú Hằng
Nguyễn Hữu Đạt Sanh
Monkey Minh
Hà Đỗ
Nguyễn Thị Thắm
Tang Tang
Khánh Nguyễn
Nguyễn Phan Thuỳ Dương
Nguyễn Duy Thanh
Nguyễn Hoàng Anh
Colin Patrick Weiss
Lưu Trọng Việt Anh
Đăng Huỳnh
Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa
Trần Đỗ Trung Đông
Nguyễn Vân Anh
Hoàng Trang Hải
Phạm Quỳnh Châu
Phan Linh
Lê Lâm
Lê Lai
Lại Thu Hiếu
Trần Anh Dũng
Lê Thu Hương
Lưu Huyền Thoại
Lee Jun Sung
Lê Hồng Đường
Trương Thị Thanh Bình
Vũ Công Khanh
Phạm Thăng Long
Vũ Huyền Anh
Nguyễn Y Vân-Tuân
Đặng Ngọc Hoa
Vũ Quốc Huy
Nguyễn Minh Phương
Phạm Minh Thu
Lê Văn Thăng
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tú
Jin Juin
Hoàng Trung Đức
Ichi Hà
Đàm Hồng Loan
Nguyễn Hải Yến
Phạm Công Xeen
Lỗ Hữu Đức Anh
Vỹ Nguyễn
Phạm Thiện Quý
Hà Tuấn Minh
Tống Mạnh
VŨ KHÁNH TÙNG
Vũ Khánh Tùng is the son of the late People’s Artisan Vũ Thắng and a seasoned artist, communicator, and manager with 15 years of professional experience pursuing large projects revolving around Vietnam’s heritage, such as the Bát Tràng Museum.
NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG LOAN
VŨ KHÁNH TÙNG
VŨ CHI LAM
HÀ TUẤN MINH
TỐNG MẠNH
VŨ BÁCH LÂM
Founded by the late National Artist Vũ Đức Thắng, Bát Tràng Museum of Viet Soul Art (also known as Bát Tràng Museum) is the first private museum dedicated to ceramics in Bát Tràng Village. It received its license by the Hanoi’s People Committee on January 28, 2016, according to Decree No. 444/QD-UBND and is governed under the Hanoi’s Department of Culture and Sports.
