For the Love of Hanoi: Bui Xuan Phai Award 2025 nominations unveiled
Now in its 18th year, the Bui Xuan Phai – For the Love of Hanoi Awards continue to recognize individuals and groups whose work reflects deep affection for the capital.
THE HANOI TIMES — Eleven nominations across four categories have been announced for the Bui Xuan Phai – For the Love of Hanoi Awards 2025, celebrating the capital’s memory, artistry and transformation.
The categories include the Grand Prize, Works, Ideas and Actions – For the Love of Hanoi. Each nominee reflects a unique way of portraying Hanoi as a city rooted in history yet constantly evolving.
"Yellow Sunlight", a luminous work by Hanoi artist Pham Binh Chuong.
From lacquer masterpieces and architectural scholarship to urban revitalization and historical musicals, this year’s list paints a vibrant portrait of Hanoi in motion: a city rooted in the past, yet always evolving.
A cultural tapestry of Hanoi in 2025
In the Works - For the Love of Hanoi category, four standout projects illuminate Hanoi’s artistic and historical richness.
Young artist Chu Nhat Quang presents a striking series of large-scale lacquer paintings entitled Sacred Marks and Independence Spring, drawing inspiration from the heritage of Thang Long - Hanoi and pivotal moments in Vietnam’s history.
Meanwhile, Pham Binh Chuong’s exhibition Down to Street No.4 marks two decades of devotion to Hanoi’s streets, capturing the soul of the city through realist brushstrokes that preserve the everyday poetry of urban life.
Nha Hoa Street, a nostalgic depiction of Hanoi by artist Pham Binh Chuong.
Architect Dr. Tran Quoc Bao and colleagues have authored Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese - French Cultural Exchange, a book systematizes a wealth of architectural knowledge and rekindles appreciation for Hanoi’s hybrid urban identity.
The Vietnam Youth Theatre’s musical Fire from the Earth revisits the spirit of 1930s Hanoi, honoring Nguyen Ngoc Vu, the city’s first Party Secretary, and celebrating the fiery longing for national liberation.
Though diverse in form and vision, these four works share a common heartbeat that draw from Hanoi’s well of history, turning love for the city into a compelling creative force.
In addition, the Actions - For the Love of Hanoi category features three initiatives that translate affection for the capital into tangible, transformative efforts.
The Initial Revival of the To Lich River Project marks a turning point in the city’s ecological journey, combining wastewater redirection, clean water supplementation from West Lake and Yen Xa Factory, and visionary planning. What was once a symbol of pollution is now poised to become a cultural and ecological corridor.
The giant iron arch structure of Vietnam Exposition Center
The Vietnam Exposition Center in Dong Anh Commune, completed in just 10 months, is a remarkable logistical achievement and a bold architectural statement. As Southeast Asia’s largest exhibition complex, it stands as a new symbol of Hanoi’s emergence on the global stage of international expos.
Meanwhile, the meticulous restoration of two nearly century-old reliefs on Hang Long Street pays homage to the legacy of Indochinese fine arts, reviving rare public artworks and breathing new life into the capital’s streetscape.
In the Ideas - For the Love of Hanoi category, three nominations reveal deep, long-term thinking about the capital’s cultural development.
The plan to renovate and expand the public space around Hoan Kiem Lake, highlighted by the removal of the “Shark Jaw” building to broaden Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square , has drawn widespread attention. It affirms a clear urban priority: public space over profit.
The newly renovated Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square stretches wide along the banks of the Hoan Kiem Lake.
The initiative to honor Confucianism, marking the 950th anniversary of the Imperial Academy (1076–2026), features a rich array of activities—including the live performance Tinh Khue Van Dai and the Van Lake reading space, an integral part of the iconic Temple of Literature complex.
Most notably, the proposed Hanoi Opera House and cultural park in Quang An, designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, is expected to become a new cultural landmark, elevating Hanoi’s presence on the global operatic stage.
The most anticipated award of the year
In keeping with tradition, the Grand Prize category reveals only one nomination, with the winner announced directly at the ceremony. It remains the emotional pinnacle of the awards, celebrating a lifetime of devotion to Hanoi.
The Bui Xuan Phai – For the Love of Hanoi Awards, founded in 2008 by the Sports & Culture Newspaper and the family of the late artist Bui Xuan Phai (1920–1988), aim to honor his legacy and spread his enduring love for the city.
Two ancient reliefs adorn the recently restored Hang Long Street in Cua Nam Ward, Hanoi. File Photo
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Society, a longtime jury member, the awards are more than accolades but a tribute to those whose work quietly but powerfully shapes Hanoi’s cultural soul. “These prizes are a source of great encouragement, honoring individuals and collectives for their tireless contributions to the capital’s cultural growth,” he shared.
He also emphasized the challenge of selection: “Choosing the final list from among so many passionate and meaningful efforts tied to Hanoi was no easy task.”
Over 17 seasons, the Bui Xuan Phai - For the Love of Hanoi Awards have honored more than 70 winners, including 16 Grand Prizes awarded to individuals and groups who left an indelible mark on the city’s cultural life, from historian Nguyen Vinh Phuc, writer To Hoai, composer Phu Quang, and filmmaker Dang Nhat Minh to architect Hoang Dao Kinh.
All laureates share one constant - a profound love for Hanoi in the past, present and future.
