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Vietnam

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6:00 AM-10:00 AM

What do birds tweet about?

Exhibition|Interactive sound installation / Public art

  • Tao-Dan Park, Ho Chi Minh City

  • Part of series: Urbanization

HAN 20250919-27 1500 © Goethe-Institut Hanoi

HAN 20250919-27 7360 © Goethe-Institut Hanoi

With "What do birds tweet about?”, two interactive sound installations – one in each city – are created in public spaces, at the intersection of art, technology, and ornithology. “Listening stations” are built to records bird calls in real time, analyses them and translates the acoustic signals into human language. At irregular intervals, it reproduces short texts – fragments of an ongoing conversation that unfolds between branches, olds between branches, antennas and layers of air. 

The installation invites visitors to pause and devote themselves to a language that is omnipresent but often goes unheard: birdsong. What you hear here does not come from an archive. The installation reacts to live acoustic events in its surroundings. It listens in. A call that just came from the trees. A song in search of a mate. The hungry cry of a young bird. 

Understanding the language of birds enables dialogue between species. This also opens up the possibility of silent rapprochement – both between humans, and between humans and nature, especially birds. "What do birds tweet about?” is an invitation to coexist in a shared acoustic space – in the midst of urban landscapes.

This project is initiated by the Goethe-Institut Vietnam in collaboration with local and German partners – Think Playgrounds from Hanoi and Baltic Raw Org from Hamburg – who are working together for the very first time. Sharing a common commitment to community engagement and the preservation of natural ecosystems, the partners have collaborated closely over many months to develop two original public art installations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

As part of the celebrations marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany this year, the collaboration seeks to make a meaningful impact on the local community by bringing together German and Vietnamese artists and architects for a site-specific co-creation.

ARTISTS | EXPERTS

Baltic Raw Org (BRO) is an interdisciplinary artist collective based in Hamburg. Founded in 2000, it specializes in temporary interventions in public spaces. While their early years focused on participatory occupation and use of urban brownfield sites, since 2012 the group has been working within an institutional framework under the term "performative architecture." Founding members include visual artist Berndt Jasper and dramaturge Móka Farkas.

Baltic Raw Org creates site-specific installations that operate at the intersection of art, architecture, and socio-spatial practice. The group uses modular, mobile wooden construction elements that are flexible and reusable. Its distinctive feature is the combination of walk-in sculptures and performative elements. The goal is to create temporary spaces, engage public participation, and redefine conventional forms of presentation. BALTIC RAW ORG is a social construct whose platform serves to explore and develop spaces for action.

Think Playgrounds was founded in 2014 with the mission to promote children’s right to play. As a social enterprise and design organisation we collaborate with multidisciplinary partners, local governments and community groups, building friendly playgrounds as well as biodiverse and sustainable public spaces.

By the end of 2024, Think Playgrounds has built over 270 friendly playgrounds and public spaces across Vietnam. More than 20 playgrounds are designed specifically to be accessible to people with some type of disabilities. Three parks in Hanoi's riverbank areas and Hoi An's Cua Dai have been developed based on the Forest Park model, promoting natural regeneration and raising awareness about native ecosystems. Think Playgrounds has also received numerous sustainability awards from local and international organisations, including the Asia Pacific Social Innovation Partnership Awards 2021, EXO Foundation Awards 2024, Ashui Awards 2019, The Art of Recycle Award 2019, and BBC 100 Women 2020...

The commercial part of Think Playgrounds provides design and build product and service for play space and ecological landscape for real estates, private schools, homes, restaurants and educational farms. We had more than 150 private projects until the end of 2024. 50% of the benefit is used for renovating public playgrounds in the cities.

Ecologist Nguyễn Hoàng Hào is currently the Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Bird Conservation Society (VBCS). He is recognized as a forestry expert with more than 20 years of experience in conservation and ecological restoration, supporting research, and promoting the enforcement of wildlife and migratory bird protection laws. His work ranges from monitoring the impacts of wind energy projects on bird populations to providing strategic consultancy for green spaces and ecological parks in major cities such as Huế, Hội An, and Hanoi.

At the same time, in his capacity as an expert at the Vietnam Forest Resources Museum, he plays a key role in developing and managing databases on flora and fauna, environmental education, and raising public awareness and communication on ecological protection. With solid academic foundations and extensive practical experience, Ecologist Nguyễn Hoàng Hào has been making significant contributions to preserving biodiversity, particularly within Vietnam’s urban areas.

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