• Society

European and Asian Artists Gather for the Annual Photo Festival in Phnom Penh

• By Meng Seavmey
• December 7, 2023 2:10 PM

PHNOM PENH – Nineteen European and Asian photographers are presenting their work at 15 exhibitions during the Photo Phnom Penh Festival, which is held this year from Dec. 7 to Feb. 7, 2024, and involves multiple venues in the capital.

On the initiative of a previous director of the Institut francais, Alain Arnaudet, the event has been organized since 2008, except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is the 14th festival to present photographic works reflecting the exchange between the two regions.

The festival takes place at more than 10 locations in Phnom Penh starting with the wall of the French Embassy along Monivong Boulevard that will feature the work of French photographer Denis Dailleux as an outdoor exhibition.

The indoor exhibitions include Kim Hak’s work at the Institut Français du Cambodge (IFC) gallery, Olivia Gay’s in front of the IFC library, Alan Crumlish’s at the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, Hul Kanha’s at the Plantation Resort & Spa, and Chhen Kimhong’s at the Sra'Art Gallery.

At the Friends Futures Factory (F3) will be held exhibitions of the work of photographers Taiwan (ROC), Shen Chao-Liang, Lee Ya-Yen, Yang Shun-Fa, Chao-Tang Chang, and Chen Chun-Lu.

The Sra'Art Gallery will feature the work of Chhen Kimhong.

The Air Gallery by Sra'Art (Factory Phnom Penh) will present the work of photographers Chhen Kimhong, Clorinde Coranotto, Aurélia Frey, Hou sokratana / Devid James, Khiev Kanel, Miss V, Baty Morokot, and Nhean Lyda.

Lastly, Suong Mardy’s photos will be exhibited at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

To make more people in the capital take part in the event, the PPPA, collaborating with the tuk-tuk community, has set up the “traveling exhibition,” which consists of having the works photographers put  at the back of tuk-tuks for two months, and reaching a large audience as drivers travel around the city.

Numerous tuk-tuks in the capital feature photos exhibited during Photo Phnom Penh so that more people can see and enjoy the works during the festival. Photo: Photo Phnom Penh

In a press release on Nov. 19, Christian Caujolle, artistic director and the PPPA founder, said that, while it had been difficult to find four Cambodian photographers to exhibit in 2008, dozens of them will have their work exhibited during the festival, and dozens more could also have been featured today.

“The festival has the dual ambition of establishing exchanges between European and Asian artists, and fostering the emergence of a new generation of photographers, in a small country still reeling from the murderous madness of the Khmer Rouge regime,” he said, according to the press release.

Founded in 2014, the Photo Phnom Penh Association is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization whose work is to promote and provide technical photography skills, and develop training opportunities for young photographers.

For more information on Photo Phnom Penh: https://www.photophnompenh.com/