Backselapak neari | Art Exchange
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Workshops, seminars and studio space
A Center for exchanges and dialogues for artists
Submitted by Linda Saphan
Statement of Purpose
selapak neari | Art Studio (SN | AE) is a new and experimental venture dedicated to forging meaningful connections and interactions between art, artists and local communities Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
In 2005, a search for Cambodian artists revealed that there are only a very small proportion of female artists in the country. Out of 20 artists met, only 3 women artists’ names came up: Duong Saree and Long Sophea, both of traditional background, and myself, in contemporary art. There clearly exists a generation gap amongst Cambodian women artists. Before the Khmer Rouge period, women in the art world were trained in developing traditional Cambodian art skills. Nowadays the younger generation are orienting toward contemporary art, yet they have no role model to look up to and who can help empower women as visual artists. There are more and younger female Khmer artists launching themselves in contemporary art without any focus, guidance or support.
There are a number of professional women artists working and living in Cambodia. “Selapak Neari” is a project to create dialogues and exchanges amongst women artists beyond the national identity. Many women artists from all over Asia live and work in Cambodia. The contemporary art scene in Cambodia is similar to other countries, i.e. dominated by male artists. This project serves as an opportunity for women artists to meet, exchange ideas and visions, and to share a diversity of art views through a deeper understanding of their national culture, hence reinforcing their own identity.
In order to enhance bonding and deepen artistic knowledge, artists are encouraged to work in pairs. A non-Cambodian artist will have her counterpart Cambodian artist. They may or may not create collaborative artwork; by working in pairs it will stimulate creative dialogues within an intimate relationship between artists of the same or different disciplines.
Artists are encouraged to be part of the community: by exchanging information about exhibitions, residencies, and about their artistic productions. By working together, these meetings will break down the artists’ isolation and stimulate creative dialogues amongst them.
S N | A E’s objectives as set forth by founder as:
To encourage creative potential of Cambodian artists through collaboration, exchanges and dialogues artists from Southeast Asia and beyond;
To explore and advance contemporary visual arts;
To serve as a platform for the regional and international exposure;
To empower women artists with learning new concepts and techniques through workshop and artists talk.
Expanding women artist’s mind to contemporary art such as multimedia artist and sound artist etc.
Implementation
SN | AE implements its mission by supporting and facilitating individual and/or collaborative work of Cambodian and regional artists through organizing workshop and artist talk or studio visit.
SN | AE proposes to bring a number of women artists (Cambodians and non Cambodian artists living and working in Cambodia) to work together in a studio for 5 months. Seminars and workshops will be organised on a monthly basis, welcoming artists from any origin, background and gender, both from the SN | AE project and other artists. These workshops will offer an occasion for artists to have access to new media, new techniques and practical art knowledge (e.g. learning how to make paper, what is a sound artist? will add a new empowering skill for the artists). Studio visits by other artists will be organised in order to create dialogues and encourage critical thinking.
Time frame of project and project output
The art tour and artists talks are open to all. The female participants would have a space to exchange and meet and eventually collaborate.
August:
A month research in August 2007 project will be started in order to identify local artisans and assess the situation in terms of arts and crafts and national and regional visual artists search. This first survey will be the database of available artisans and give an overview of craft in the area. The assistant of the SN | AE will be responsible of the project.
Once the artists’ list is confirmed, the series of workshops will start with artists’ talks and presentations of their work, their world view and art view.
September:
Practical workshop 1: Self-presentation workshop how to make a CV and a portfolio?
Workshop: Paper making with French-Italian Margherita del Balzo,
Artist’s talk with Duong Saree (traditional Khmer female painter)
Artist’s talk with filmmaker Christine Bouteiller
Art tour: Reyum Art School in Phnom Penh
Artist meeting for women artists selected to join SN | AE and to organize time and space to work in pair.
October:
Practical workshop 2: where to get art material and frames, what support to choose when one is a conceptual artist?
Workshop on clay sculpture with Sa Piseth sculpture teacher
Workshop on ceramic with Socheathy Ouk ceramic teacher
Studio visit: Studio 310 (three young female artists working together),
Artist talk on what is multimedia art with Chinese artist Mo-Ling Chui
Artist meeting for women artists selected to join SN | AE once a week to discuss and exchange between women artists
November:
Practical workshop 3: how to archive one’s works and to present one’s art works from Bophana archiving center?
Workshop on silk painting with Long Sophea and Chhim Sothy
Studio Visit at Lake Studio
Workshop: Collage technique lecture with artist and art teacher Douglas Baulos,
Art Tour: Fine Art School in Phnom Penh
Artist meeting for women artists selected to join SN | AE once a week to discuss and exchange between women artists
December:
Practical workshop 3: all about exhibition spaces in Cambodia and other countries, art residencies, art contests and research funding.
Workshop designing on computer with young Khmer artist from Comic art association and what is a sound artist?
Art Tour: Phare Art School in Battambang
Artist meeting for women artists selected to join SN | AE once a week to discuss and exchange between women artists
Audience
Young female artists from Cambodia and regional artists living in Cambodia are the target audience.
By searching artists in different art school and existing exhibition spaces for local and regional female artists. To put adds in those spaces, it will be possible to get disseminate the SN | AE. But mainly through the network of artists already known with the VAO festival and others art events organized by Linda Saphan.
Impact / Vision
“Contribute to shed a new light on Cambodia, its culture, identity and situation at the beginning of this globalizing 21st century as the country is rebuilding itself and encourage young Cambodian artists often feeling constrained by the country’s history and the necessity of addressing Cambodian society’s trauma to explore new artistic territories and forms of expressions”.
SN | AE is set up in the wake of the success of Cambodia’s first festival on contemporary visual arts, ‘Visual Arts Open’ (VAO) organized by Linda Saphan and Sopheap Pich. The festival gathering 19 Cambodian artists offered a unique and comprehensive panorama on contemporary Cambodian art practices and territories. It was felt from the numerous debates and meetings that helped prepare the event and from the event outcomes that in fulfilling the vision above mentioned, SN | AE would best develop according the following line:
While the country struggles to rebuild itself, Cambodia’s civil society is facing new challenges like environment problem, poverty reduction, corruption, mass tourism… All these issues are of great concern for artists, if Cambodian artists and particularly women artists are to play an active role in the emergence of the country’s civil society, a role that has so far been downplayed and restricted to the recalling of personal experiences from genocidal times.
Critical observation, critical thinking and interaction with the other (notably with artists from neighboring countries are thus crucial to encourage).
Cambodia currently sees some Cambodians from the diasporas coming back to their home country. Among these returnees, some artists are eager to interact with their Cambodian counterparts. At a time when the country is still in search for a way towards national reconciliation, this promising dialogue which VAO contributed to nurture could help build bridges between generations and art practices; it would also help formulate questions and/or address issues regarding Cambodian identity in today’s globalizing world.