Gen Z and traditional crafts

Tran Thi Yen and Nguyen Viet Lam are well-known names among enthusiasts of traditional handicrafts. Both born in the 1990s and successors of veteran artisans in their hometowns, they share a deep concern for how to preserve and promote the crafts handed down by their ancestors.

Tran Thi Yen has brought Ma Chau silk, a refined and intricate handwoven product, onto the international stage. Ma Chau silk has been selected by leading Vietnamese designers for international fashion weeks.

At present, she continues to experiment with expanding silk into new product lines, opening up broader applications for the fabric.

Sharing Yen’s aspiration, Nguyen Viet Lam, born in 1996, has been steadily diversifying the Thanh Ha pottery line.

Building on the more than 500-year tradition of handmade ceramics from his native village, Lam has introduced new glazed products and unique souvenir items. These creative items have helped position Thanh Ha pottery more firmly in the contemporary market but still maintained its traditional roots.

Meanwhile, the Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village is the first craft village in the country to apply blockchain technology and smart chips to traditional handicrafts.

This advancement allows consumers and tourists to gain a deeper insight into the product’s value from the production process to the artisan’s identity and raw materials via smartphones.

Da Nang is now home to around 60 traditional craft villages, stretching from the mountains to the lowlands. Each community preserves its own cultural identity through distinctive crafts. What stands out about the younger generation returning to these villages is their creativity in promoting traditional products through diverse, modern approaches.

According to People’s Artisan Nguyen Van Tiep, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Craft Villages, once young people truly grasp the cultural value of traditional crafts, they will remain dedicated and contribute wholeheartedly to preserving them.

Thanks to the efforts of this younger generation, Da Nang’s handicrafts are not only finding their way into export markets but also becoming distinctive souvenirs that reflect the cultural identity of the city, he noted.