At just 30 years old, Harry Nguyen is the Founder and Creative Director of Fly On Dust Media House. You could say that he’s pretty young to be in that position, but the normal path is not one that Harry never followed.
“I din’t go to high school or college,” Harry explains. “My career path hasn’t followed tradition, something my parents didn’t agree with. My father didn’t talk to me for two years.”
There’s no shortage of stories of people leaving school early and finding success, but rarely do you hear about the unhappy family behind them.
Still, traditional values were always important to Harry. “My maternal surname is derived from Tay minorities in Phu Tho,” Harry says. “I have had a lot of access to the Tay minority culture since childhood. On the paternal side, my grandmother is Chinese Vietnamese. Although I was very interested in culture from a young age, I didn’t have a deep interest”.
Growing up, Harry spent a lot of time serving in the Vietnam People’s Navy, “I thought my life has been forged with a lot of experiences so that has motivated me to pursue the current career,” Harry said.
Do vậy, lựa chọn nghiệp sáng tạo đã là rủi ro, chưa kể, Harry Nguyễn định nghĩa Fly On Dust là một culture agency, đáp ứng nhu cầu thị trường ngách.
Các bạn trẻ thành thị có điều kiện tiếp cận nhiều luồng thông tin hơn nhưng có lẽ vì thế mà họ lãng quên đi những nét văn hóa truyền thống đẹp đang ở rất gần.
In Vietnam, where modern culture prioritises luxury and glamour, contemporary art struggles to find a place. Harry explains that Fly On Dust is a ‘culture’ agency, targeting niche markets. He does this by prioritising those traditional values he holds so dear.
“I’ve met a lot of young H’mong people who play traditional trumpets and flutes, and have a deep understanding of their history, while the majority Vietnamese people do not know anything about traditional music,” Harry explains.
Harry goes on to explain that, he believes, outside of minority culture, traditional Vietnamese music struggles against modernity. “Western music makes more money and gains more recognition in society,” Harry says.
Fly On Dust works as a production house, gaining a stable income from music videos and TVC productions. This is, Harry explains, what allows him to undertake cultural projects that preserve the nation’s identity.
An example of this is ‘Above May Cave’, a project that combines traditional Vietnamese music with the talent of foreign artists.
He explains the significance of the shooting location, Dong Cong Temple, Yen Bai province, “Between 1991-1993 the temple was planned to be knocked down to make parking lots. When my team started working on this project, my goal was to promote Vietnamese indigenous cultures to help understand the image of national values, but I also wanted to highlight the people preserving Vietnam’s traditions.”
When it comes to learning his trade, Harry recounts a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci, “You should spend little time copying the masters, but much time studying the masters of masters,” Harry says.
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