Vietnam Ethnic Portraits by Rehahn: Showcased at Hoi An's Precious Heritage Museum

Precious Heritage Museum in Hoi An

The Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery, located in Hoi An Old Town, is home to the permanent exhibition of Réhahn’s Precious Heritage Collection. While transporting you to the furthest reaches of Vietnam, the collection will unveil the rich cultural tapestry of the ethnic tribes.

Discover striking portraits, stories, and heirlooms that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Both a celebration and a call for conservation, this free museum, the only one of its kind, is a labor of love and respect. It stands as a testament to the connection, appreciation and importance Réhahn feels for these remarkable tribes.

Five rooms spanning over 500 sqm in a 19th century French house, present hundreds of portraits, over 60 costumes, tribal songs and a sense of wonderment. As you visit each room, you can follow Réhahn on his nearly decade-long journey to document the 54 Ethnic Groups and their subgroups left in the country.

In the museum, Réhahn can be found sharing his adventures with visitors, signing books and promoting the beauty and enchanting diversity of Vietnam. He hopes to bring attention to the changing path of ethnic tradition by sharing the essence of the people who have revolutionized his career.

A unique Museum in Hoi An

Rehahn's Bestseller Vietnam Photo Gallery: Precious Heritage Museum in Hoi An

The Fine Art Room

The Fine Art room will be your first stop on your journey through our museum. Here, you will be met by all of Réhahn’s most iconic and bestselling photographs. Many of these images are very personal to the French photographer and mark significant turning points in his career, vision and development as an artist.

Vietnam Ethnic Group Precious Heritage Museum: Traditional Costumes and Portraits by Rehahn in Hoi An
▲ Front of the Precious Heritage Museum
Traditional Indigo Dyeing of Vietnam's Ethnic Groups: Display at Hoi An's Precious Heritage Museum by Rehahn

The Indigo Room

The newest addition to the museum is a room that will truly take you on a voyage “Into the Land of Indigo”.

The first thing you will notice upon entering the room is that the walls are painted the deepest blue. This is no ordinary paint. It is, in fact, the very same indigo dye that is used by ethnic groups such as the Dao, Nung, Hmong and the La Chi to create their incredibly rich blue textiles. Explanatory texts in the Indigo Room will teach you about the tribe’s sustainable process for making this non-toxic “paint” as well as textile techniques that have been passed down for centuries such as hemp harvesting and batik design. These techniques are an integral part of the culture, heritage, and in some cases, livelihood of these ethnic groups.

Indigo-dyed handicrafts and full-color portraits of the incredible women who spend their lives creating heritage textiles are on display in the room. Take a moment to browse through the products and pause over a cup of K’Ho coffee. For an incredible flavor, you can sweeten the coffee with organic honey harvested by the Co Tu tribe in the central highland mountains. Come and immerse yourself in the stories and remarkable traditions of Vietnam for an unforgettable experience in the Land of Indigo.

North Vietnam Ethnic Groups: Traditional Costumes and Portraits Displayed at Hoi An's Precious Heritage Museum by Rehahn
Ethnic Portraits & Costumes: Vietnam's South & Central in Hoi An's Precious Heritage Museum by Rehahn

Northern Vietnam

Northern Vietnam is a breathtaking destination. Réhahn travelled to the furthest reaches of the country to photograph tribes such as the Cong whose cultural heritage was largely left behind when they migrated from Laos to Vietnam. He’s been sung to by the Si La, whose silver coin lined costumes are said to bring good luck.

He’s met the Dao and the Pu Peo, the Kho Mu and the Flower Hmong, each ethnicity differing from one another in language, skills or traditional costumes. The Northern region can be a difficult land to travel through and even more so to live in but the beauty, colors and contrasts of these mountainous villages draw Réhahn back again and again.

Central And Southern Vietnam

Many areas of Central and Southern Vietnam where the ethnic groups live have remained inaccessible to foreigners. Réhahn has worked tirelessly over the years to obtain entry into these remote regions. One highlight was having the privilege of meeting the O Du, the smallest ethnic group in Vietnam at only 376 people.

Since Réhahn lives in Central Vietnam, he is able to visit with some of these ethnic groups regularly and he can see how the modernity of the outside world is changing their paths. This section of the museum is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the people and their traditional costumes, many of which are no longer being made.

Additional information:

Add: 26 Phan Boi Chau – Hoi An 
Country: Vietnam
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +84 94 982 06 98
Opening Time: from 8am to 8pm, 7/7

FREE ENTRANCE

Where is located the Precious Heritage Museum in Hoi An

Testimonials

Rehahn n’est pas seulement un remarquable technicien et un grand photographe. C’est avant tout un homme de rencontre.
Il parcourt des kilomètres ( en voiture, à moto, voire à pied…) pour atteindre les villages ou hameaux dont il veut immortaliser les habitants, il salue, sourit, partage, donne et alors, seulement, reçoit en retour l’ acquiescement de faire la photo, le sourire qui lui renvoie le sien et qui l’amène à “déclencher”.

Ces photos offertes par les personnes dont il a fait les portraits plus que “prises”, les costumes qui lui ont été donnés par les minorités qu’il a maintes fois visitées, et le savoir glané du Nord au Sud du Vietnam, l’ont amené à ouvrir à Hoi An un musée unique en son genre, pour conserver les traditions de ces populations belles et attachantes, d’une diversité inouïe.

Rehahn, un photographe, un homme allant à la rencontre de l’ autre, un ami…

Nicolas Warnery - French Ambassador (Vietnam 2018-2023)

Réhahn’s Precious Art Gallery in Hoi An is a true testimony to the diversity and richness of Vietnam and its beautiful, proud and hard-working people in particular.

I love the way how Réhahn has captured the cultural diversity of this country through his portraits of the women, men and children that form the backbone of Vietnam, its history and its future.

By combining Réhahn’s pictures of the many people he met with their traditional wear the Gallery offers visitors a glimpse into their world, making the exhibition a must see that will enhance your perspective, understanding and appreciation for Vietnam and the Vietnamese.

Elsbeth Akkerman - Netherlands Ambassador (Vietnam 2018 till now)

Le “Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum “ ouvert par Réhahn à Hoi An, en 2016 est un endroit unique au Vietnam. En un peu plus d’une heure, le visiteur peut se faire une idée très complète de l’incroyable richesse culturelle et anthropologique du Vietnam.

Parce que, bien loin des clichés véhiculés en Europe ou ailleurs dans le monde, le Vietnam n’est pas que le Xième dragon asiatique à la croissance économique fulgurante, où gratte-ciels et usines poussent comme des champignons.

C’est tout le génie de Réhahn d’avoir réussi à monter toute la richesse et la diversité ethnique de ce pays si complexe.

Ce qui frappe d’abord, bien sûr, ce sont tous les costumes et objets artisanaux traditionnels de ces quelques 54 tribus et ethnies variées, installées dans ce vaste pays et que Réhahn a pu rassembler au cours de nombreuses années passées à sillonner le Vietnam, jusque dans des endroits presque inaccessibles, hors du temps, presque coupés du monde.

Mais Réhahn est avant tout un photographe d’un exceptionnel talent et les nombreux clichés qui jalonnent le musée prennent littéralement le visiteur aux tripes.
On a dit de lui qu’il saisissait l’âme de ses modèles. Il suffit de se plonger dans le regard de ces anciens aux visages burinés et creusés de rides ou de contempler les sourires espiègles de ces enfants venus des quatre coins du pays, pour se rendre compte que cette réputation est tout à fait méritée.

Visiter le “Precious Heritage Museum “ est une expérience intemporelle qui vous plonge sans aucune préparation dans un autre Vietnam, un Vietnam quasiment éternel, mais qu’il faut préserver parce que, comme partout ailleurs dans le monde, il est menacé par une modernité galopante.

Grâce à Réhahn, une partie de cet héritage est aujourd’hui préservée. Qu’il en soit remercié!

Paul Jansen - Belgium Ambassador (Vietnam 2018 till now)

Para mí fue un inmenso privilegio conocer a Rehahn durante el período en que me desempeñé como embajador de Cuba en Vietnam. Me impresionó enormemente, además de la exquisita calidad técnica y artística de su obra, su pasión y compromiso profundamente humanos. Estuve al tanto de la constancia en su empeño por llegar a retratar a todos los grupos étnicos de Vietnam y supe de las bellas historias de amor, amistad y solidaridad que supo cultivar con todos aquellos seres de varias generaciones que supo atrapar con su lente desde la más noble y sublime dimensión de humanismo.

El museo que ha logrado crear en Hoian constituye un monumento de respeto a la pluralidad y a la extraordinaria riqueza cultural de las etnias de ese hermoso país indochino. El museo y toda su obra perdurarán como una ejemplar muestra de la comprensión y la fraternidad entre los seres humanos y deben ser siempre una fuente de orgullo y un referente para cualquier extranjero que tenga interés y voluntad por fortalecer los vínculos de su país con la nación vietnamita. Para Rehahn, su obra y su legado, mi ovación infinita.

Herminio López Díaz - Embajador de Cuba (Vietnam 2013 - 2017)