Mark Rapoport first came to Vietnam for two months as a volunteer medical worker in 1969. Although most of his work was in a hospital for Vietnamese civilians in Danang, he did some work in ethnic villages in other central provinces. At this time, he acquired an interest in the culture and art of these groups.
This interest encouraged Mark to return to Vietnam. And when his wife had a job offer for a project in Vietnam, the Rapoports moved to Vietnam in 2001. Since then Mark has put together a large collection of antiquesand arts from Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups.
As his collection reached some 15 thousand objects, Mark decided to open a gallery to share his treasures with the world. Together with a Vietnamese business partner, Mark established 54 Traditions. Here, Mark selects the most excellent examples from his collection, and then cleans, prepares, and mounts or frames each object as a museum would.
