Cambodia's cultural renaissance

The creative spirit has returned to Cambodia, says Teresa Levonian Cole

A dancer in traditional attire Photo: ALAMY

The Telegraph | 2 June 2014

"Nobody knows what happened to my father,” said my guide, Thearit, as we walked past the ranks of photographs of inmates murdered in the notorious Tuol Sleng prison. “He was taken when I was a baby. After Pol Pot’s regime fell, in 1979, my mother came here to look for his photograph among those of the victims. She never found his body, so instead, she buried the only photograph she had of him. I don’t even know what he looked like.” 

The legacy of five brutal years under the Khmer Rouge is still very much in evidence in Phnom Penh, where a tour of Tuol Sleng – a former high school turned prison, known as S-21 – is as compulsory for an understanding of Cambodia as is a tour of the Royal Palace or a visit to the Angkor treasures of the National Museum. This is a country where stories like Thearit’s are shockingly commonplace. As I would discover, everyone here has their personal tale of tragedy and loss, related in tones of resigned acceptance. 

Occasionally, it is turned to profit. In the grounds of S-21, two of the prison’s only seven known survivors had set up stalls, selling books about their experiences. One of them, Bou Meng, posed smiling for a photograph by a guilt-ridden American tourist. “I was summoned one day and told to make a portrait of Pol Pot,” he said. “And I was told that if it was not a good likeness, I would be killed.” The portrait proved flattering; he survived. 

^{Child victims of Pol Pot (Photo: Alamy)}

Against this background, in which almost two million people – including 90 per cent of the country’s artists and intellectuals – are estimated to have been murdered, the cultural renaissance currently taking place in the capital is all the more remarkable. Even as the people rationalise their recent past and make an educational experience – complete with audio guide – of the site of the Killing Fields at the edge of the expanding city limits, the country is moving on. All over the capital, cranes are at work, developing residential areas for wealthy foreign investors. Apartment blocks with fanciful names such as “Versailles”, standing on “The Seine”, are springing up, while heritage organisations fight to save the beautiful mansions of the French colonial era from the demolition ball. Happily, the growth of tourism is playing its part in preservation, too, as a number of these historic buildings are being restored and transformed into a new wave of boutique hotels, and trendy new restaurants find sophisticated homes in a colonial past. 

^{A former cell in S-21 prison (Photo: Alamy)}

Regenerating the cultural heritage, however, requires more than bricks and mortar. In a school, chillingly similar to the building which housed S-21, I visited a weekend dance class run by Cambodian Living Arts (CLA), an organisation which involves 500 children aged 10 to 23, from nine provinces. Here, a group of teenagers – the musicians among them offering accompaniment on the two-stringed tro fiddle, drums and xylophone-like roneat – rehearsed under the critical eye of their teacher. An air of respectful concentration prevailed. “Dance was transmitted orally,” said Marion Gommard of CLA, “and the tradition was entirely destroyed under the Khmer Rouge. We aim to reintroduce the ancient art via such community arts programmes, and by offering scholarships for further study. But we then also have to create opportunities for working in the arts – such as the weekly performances we organise in the National Museum.” 

Meantime, even in this bare schoolroom, with children dressed in T-shirts and tracksuits, the dance – based on a folk tale about a loving couple torn apart by a lustful King – was riveting in its intensity. The young dancers moved with the grace and concentration of professionals, hands and arms contorting with expressive flexibility in the stylised gestures of their art, moving one of the boys, as the dance reached its climax, to real tears. 

Not only the traditional arts are being addressed. Dedication is seen at every level, as those who escaped the purges return to rebuild their tattered country. One of these is Romyda Keth , who returned from Paris in 1994 and, as one of a handful of Cambodian fashion designers with an international career, was invited to participate in Cambodia’s inaugural Fashion Week in 2011. Her boutique, Ambre, is housed in a colonial villa where customers wander through rooms colour-coded to match the magnificent frocks of handmade Cambodian silks, with a new branch just opened in Siem Reap. Her sophisticated yet affordable creations are sought by foreign clients and the “Khmer Riches” alike. “In Europe, everyone now wears jeans,” said Keth, elegantly clad in her own creation. “But in Phnom Penh, ladies still like to dress like ladies!” 

^{Cambodia National Museum (Photo: Alamy)}

Further along rue 178 – dubbed “Art Street” – the same creative flair is on display in home design boutiques, where traditional techniques and motifs – Apsara dancers, fragments of Pali texts – serve as inspiration for contemporary decorative objects. “Many enterprises began with the help of NGOs,” said Nathalie Saphon Ridel, who also returned from Paris to help revive ancient Khmer crafts, inspiring Cambodian designers whose work she sells in her high-end boutiques. She was instrumental in the creation of Artisans d’Angkor, enlisting the support of artists to help develop what has grown into a flourishing, self-sustaining business. The artist-designer, Theam – indoctrinated by the Khmer Rouge and dragooned, aged nine, into the army – is a former artistic director of Artisans who has since struck up on his own, training and employing local people in his own workshop. His paintings are inspired by Cambodia’s past, while his trademark lacquer Buddhas and elephants can be found throughout outlets in Phnom Penh. “Things are changing here,” he said. “People are beginning to pay attention to what we are doing.” 

“There is no tradition of contemporary painting here,” said Em Riem, one of the country’s most successful artists. “We are still finding our way, and have to develop our own style, from scratch.” His own gallery, one of several along rue 178, exemplifies his search. His work encompasses strikingly different styles – ranging from Basquiat-inspired quasi-African art, through a cartoon cycle, to sobering, life-size black-and-white portraits of couples killed by the Khmer Rouge, based on the photographs of Tuol Sleng – 15 of which were purchased by Bernie Ecclestone. All are painted on old rice sacks, panels of jute sewn together. 

Em Riem is the first person in his family to have left his village and gone to study, and he, too, has a story: press-ganged to work for the Khmer Rouge at the age of four, gathering manure. “I lost my elder brother in the crush, during the evacuation of Phnom Penh to the countryside,” he said. “The family survived because my father was a carpenter – we were not intellectuals. For me, it is very important to transmit our Cambodian heritage to the rest of the world”. 

^{The retsoration of temple frescos in Phnom Penh (Photo: Alamy)}

The world, it seems, is ready to receive. Last year, New York staged a citywide Season of Cambodia festival, spanning all the arts, both traditional and contemporary, involving established and emerging names alike. And the young dance troop, the Sacred Dancers of Angkor, has recently returned from a triumphant tour of the United States. From the streets of Phnom Penh, with the mango sellers and tangled overhead cables juxtaposed with the new wave of elegant boutiques and restaurants, artists and musicians, actors and dancers are preparing to take their place on the world stage. As Romyda Keth said, “There is a new sense of pride in being Cambodian.”

Getting there

There are no direct flights from the UK to Phnom Penh. Thai Airways (0844 561 0911; thaiairways.co.uk) flies from Heathrow to Phnom Penh via Bangkok, from £789 return. Qatar Airways (0870 389 8090; qatarairways.com) has launched a daily service from Heathrow to Phnom Penh via Doha, return flight from £726.

Packages

Abercrombie & Kent (0845 485 1142; abercrombiekent.co.uk) offers a seven-night tailor-made itinerary to Cambodia, from £1,995, including flights, transfers, guided excursions, and b & b accommodation at the Raffles hotels in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and one night at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

Where to stay

Arun Villa £

A deceptively large house on three floors (no lift) in a residential street, with small pool and just 12 rooms and suites, owned by a French-Cambodian couple. Rooms are simple but pleasant. Opt for the lovely roof terrace suite. (00855 12 660 695; arunvilla-phnompenh.com; doubles from $60/£40). 

White Mansion ££

Formerly part of the US embassy compound, this spacious, elegantly contemporary 30-room boutique hotel is decorated with artworks by Em Riem, who also designed the café-restaurant. (00855 23 555 0955; hotelphnompenh-whitemansion.com; doubles from $79 ). 

Raffles £££

The building which houses the legendary Raffles has lived through the city’s changing fortunes since 1929. In grand colonial style, with chequered tiles and colonnades, and a new wing behind the gardens and large pool, Raffles has hosted dignitaries from Jackie Kennedy to Barack Obama. Absolutely the place to be. (23 981 888; raffles.com/phnompenh; doubles from $270 ).

Where to eat

Heart of an Angel £

Quirky and fun, with an outdoor area around an Italianate tropical garden with pool, serving Khmer dishes, and cocktails for $2 (17C, rue 608; 23 882 026). 

Malis ££

Owned by star chef Luu Meng, who is credited with reinventing traditional Khmer cuisine, dishes are prepared with exquisite care and inventiveness. Simply sublime (136 Norodom Bvd; 23 221 022). 

Le Royal £££

For French gourmet cuisine – grilled turbot with truffles and Colorado lamb are mouth-watering examples – complemented by an excellent wine list, the capital has no better that Raffles’ fine dining restaurant (92 Rukhak Vithei Daun Penh; 23 981 888).

The inside track

For a taste of Phnom Penh’s vibrant art, design and fashion scene: 

Artisans d’Angkor (12AEo, rue 13; artisansdangkor.com) One of the best-known outlets for clothing, homewear and crafts, where traditional designs are given a contemporary fillip.

Ambre (37 rue 178; romydaketh.net) Gorgeous clothing lines in silks and cottons, flattering, sophisticated and easy to wear. 

Le Lezard Bleu (61 rue 240; lelezardbleu.com) Beautiful contemporary artifacts based on traditional Khmer motifs.

Waterlily (37EO rue 240; waterlilybychristinegauthier.com) Quirky and fabulous jewellery made from recycled objects by Christine Gauthier. 

La Gallerie (13 rue 178) Em Riem’s gallery, where the artist is usually to be found. Paintings from $1,800. 

Cambodian Living Arts (128-G9 Sothearos Bvd; cambodianlivingarts.org) Community arts organisation supporting traditional Khmer performing arts through classes and performances.

What to avoid

It is taboo to touch people on the head

April – horribly hot and sticky

Giving money to beggars – you will be besieged

Changing cash into local riels – the dollar is the standard currency

Further information

Rough Guide to Cambodia, £13.99 (October 2011) .

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