Healing stories through the exhibition 'Cancer Journey - Sowing the Seeds of LOVE for Life' by Psycancer

There was a little girl who whispered to his father, "Dad, let's just cry together!"

There was a young mother who planted a seed of love in her own life.

There was a girl who decided to live the most brilliant life at the age of 18.

…

Each person has their own fate. They all carry the pain of the cruel cancer disease. But in some way, they have transformed this pain into motivation to live a meaningful life.

All these emotions have been fully expressed through the exhibition “The Cancer Journey - Sowing the Seeds of LOVE for Life" organized by Psycancer, in the warm space of Toong Phan Boi Chau.

Toong had an interview with Ms. Le Hoang Dieu Anh - the Exhibition Director, and Ms. Huong Mi Le - the Curator of this exhibition.

It is known that the exhibition "Cancer Journey - Sowing the Seeds of LOVE for Life" includes various items created from the stories of the community living with cancer, such as writings, images, and memorabilia.

In the role of the Curator, Ms. Huong Mi Le, can you share the selection criteria for the items to be exhibited?

This is not an art exhibition, but rather a display of educational stories. Therefore, the criteria I used to select the exhibited items is that they must contain moving, sincere stories.

The items must reveal the raw, profound emotions of each person. Through this, they can convey a positive message about the love of life and how to face adversity

Is there any story that has stirred your heart the most?

Ms. Dieu Anh: I was very touched by the story of a father facing cancer. During his journey against the physical pain, he learned to accept his emotions.

It was when his son saw him in pain. The little boy approached and whispered in his ear, "Dad, it's okay to cry!" At that moment, it was like an electric current ran through his heart. And when his teardrops cascaded down, he realized that the pain in his soul had shattered to make way for love.

He no longer hid his fear or tried to appear strong. His whole family began to learn how to face harsh emotions and see them as a part of life. Only when we accept those emotions can we overcome them and find true love.

Ms. Huong Mi Le: I was deeply inspired by the story of a young mother who discovered she had breast cancer just as her child was learning to speak. The whole family cried, laughed, and overcame the harsh period together. But it was precisely in the adversity that they found a new way to express love for each other.

The young mother always told her child that love and strength would be the seeds that help us overcome anything. And she has already sown the seeds of love in this life.

At the exhibition, in a painting depicting the family, the image of those seeds of love became gradually clear. Initially, the seed took the shape of the cancer. However, in the end, it was love that helped it blossom into a vibrant flower.

Have you two been able to measure the feedback from the participants and the community towards this event?

Ms. Dieu Anh: “Many people who participated in the exhibition shared that they no longer fear cancer as they once did. They learned how to confront and accept their negative emotions.

One of the most moving comments Diệu Anh received was "Cancer cannot prevent me from loving every hour, every minute, every second of this life”. This made me feel that our efforts have been significant.

Ms. Huong Mi Le: Besides feedback from our participants, we also received a lot of attention from the media. Such as VTV2, VTV3, VTC1, and other media outlets have all reported on this event. Especially, we were able to organize a talk show on VTV2 to further spread the message about mental health care.

After the 'Cancer Journey - Nurturing the Love for Life' event, can you two give us a glimpse of your upcoming plans to continue spreading the message of mental health care?

Ms. Huong Mi Le: We are considering developing the event into a larger project, such as making a documentary film or publishing a book to record and spread the meaningful stories from this event. It all depends on whether the fates are right (*laughs).

Ms. Dieu Anh: This event is just the beginning of Psycancer activities to raise awareness in mental health care. We plan to organize more direct and online activities, using art as a way to approach and convey this message to the community.

Can you share your feelings and thoughts after this collaboration with Toong for this event?

Ms. Huong Mi Le: When it comes to the topic of cancer, some places will be hesitant or skip it, but Toong has shown empathy and promptly accepted our idea.

I have collaborated with Toong on some cultural and artistic projects before and I know that Toong always supports artists and cultural artists in Vietnam. When thinking about space to organize this exhibition, Toong Phan Boi Chau was my first choice because the space here is not only sophisticated but also accessible and suitable for the event’s objectives.

Ms. Dieu Anh: I would like to express my gratitude. I was truly grateful to Toong not only for providing a wonderful space but also for the kindness and openness of this place.

The space at Toong helps people to be themselves and express their feelings most authentically. From the very first emails of the collaboration, I had felt the resonance and understanding from Toong, which has made the collaboration process very smooth.

Thank you very much the two of you for this meaningful conversation!

The exhibition 'Cancer Journey - Nurturing the LOVE for Life' is being featured on the morning show Ca Phe Sang on VTV3. You can watch it LINK.