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TaDiOto
Category: General Published on Monday, 06 April 2009 11:44 Written by Brian Webb Hits: 910
TaDiOto is a mellow bar and gallery run by Nguyen Qui Duc. At the helm for nine months, he’s fashioned this venue into his own personal creation, an image of himself.
Duc can almost always be found inside, mingling or making introductions, telling one of his many stories or washing glasses behind the counter. One suspects that he, even more than the drinks and tasteful décor, is what draws people in.
Born in central Vietnam and raised in the US, he first came back in 1989. Numerous trips back and forth saw him finally decide to stay. He had fallen in love with the country and the building housing the bar.
Displaced Placement
Despite his success in the US as a journalist and radio commentator for National Public Radio, he has “always felt a certain level of discomfort in America.”
The result, repeats Duc in the kind of perfect English that makes you a little self-conscious of your own, is that he’s homeless. Part of that is surely the many years he’s spent travelling. He seems to have lived everywhere – Europe, Eastern Europe, America and North Africa.
“I learned a lot from my travels,” he says. But, as you’ll sometimes hear from those who’ve spent years travelling, that sort of worldliness can come at a price. “I feel like I don’t belong anywhere.”
This sense of placelessness is also reflected in TaDiOto. Located on Trieu Viet Vuong, one of the unique things about this venue is that it lacks the uniform feel of many night spots in Hanoi.
“I feel an affinity for people who are homeless,” explains Duc about the vibe of his bar. “Many of my friends are like that. Misfits.”
Like most of what he says, this comment is saturated with irony. Looking around the room, you won’t find any stereotypical band of social outcasts. And yet they are people of all stripes. The walls and shelves, too, are packed full with odds and ends from all over. Simple tubes are turned into vases and filled with flowers. Colourful little plastic dogs hang out in a rock garden near the bathroom.
And if you ask nicely, he may even show you one of the “robots” he’s made out of recycled objects and wires. One is a rubber baby with closed eyes that dances to Ricky Martin. Another is a creepy skeleton that talks like a pirate.
The Host with the Most
Duc sees his role as more than just running a bar and TaDiOto quite literally is a place of many layers. There are six levels, with rooms staggered on either side of the building. Certain evenings host live music performance and the range is characteristically eclectic, of course, from jazz, to a Moroccan band or maybe just a sitar with drums.
One of the floors has been turned into a gallery space, featuring works by both Vietnamese and international artists, with some of his own thrown into the mix. Another room is used as a studio and teaching space, where classes are given to Vietnamese artists.
“There are a lot of wonderful painters and artists here,” he says of the space. “They are misunderstood, sometimes. I’d like to start a cross-cultural interaction, so that my Vietnamese friends can participate in projects.”
His aim here is to change the dynamics of Vietnamese art “so the dialogue is not east/west, but south/south.”
“I want to start a conversation with cultures that Vietnam doesn’t have communication with,” he explains. “People who’ve had experience with colonialism and divided nations.”
Larger than Life
Not surprisingly, Duc’s head is full of projects, and he seems to be developing many of them at the same time, or at least out of the same place. The rooftop will soon be a working kitchen and he talks of making the front into a bakery and flower shop. But that’s far from everything. He has ideas for a novel, film and screenplays, theatre and even architectural projects.
“I like to think big,” he says.
Considering all this, it is ironic that he calls himself homeless. With all he’s doing, his aim appears to be exactly the opposite.
“I love to play host, to cook and surround myself with friends,” he admits.
True to form he has created a hospitable and creative environment for the people he likes. Disparate elements, people and objects have been brought together. In the way a bird will take a choice twig or leaf from here, a piece of coloured plastic, a string of tinsel from there, and bring them back to a little nook to make a comfortable place, so Duc has done the same. A home, if you will.