Slowly but surely emerging from the ravages of the devastating Coronavirus pandemic and its resultant crippling impact on the global economy, Cambodia’s art scene is still finding its feet.

Stumbling unsteadily like a man stepping out in the blinding sun from a dark cave, the art industry has suffered a huge blow along with the economy.

“Our audience is largely local residents and Cambodians. So tourism doesn’t usually affect us directly. However, I can say that the downward turn of economy in general is particularly hard on the arts in Cambodia as we rely so much on the private sector for support. Without support from venues and audiences then artists will continue to struggle as they did since covid. Which is true for the art space as well,” said Dana Langlois, founder and artistic director, Java Creative Café.

“The art market in Cambodia is stagnant for now and the resurgence of tourism has still not been able to create any positive impact,” said Soeng Eoun, founder and proprietor of Can’ Art. She feels that in general, artists are not getting a good deal from the galleries.

“The art market is slowly growing, however there are many non-Khmer artists dominating the space. Very few galleries are owned and run by Khmers. But there are amazing exceptions such as Chan Dina, Din Art Gallery and SaSa Projects,” said Liz Heeley, former employee of Pi-Pet-Pi Gallery282.

Heeley, who used to run her own gallery, feels the pain of economic challenges. “The expense of running a gallery is large and many artists are problematic as they do not understand their commitment and the cost to the gallery. Many artists are represented by a manager that will take a commission as large as the commission required by the gallery,” she said.

As to whether the revival of tourism is having a simultaneous resurgent effect on the art market, Heeley remains sceptical. “Tourism only benefits tourist art generally like the mass-produced pictures of an Apsara or Angkor Wat. The tour companies and hotels send tourists to the same old places such as Toul Sleng, Royal Palace, Killing Fields and if they are lucky the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Even in the art city of Battambang, major tour companies will forget the art scene in preference for a bike ride or the bat caves, she said.

She also rues the step-motherly treatment by the government to the art market in the Kingdom. “The department of tourism or the department of Arts and Culture don’t seem very interested in the contemporary art scene either. Anything after the Khmer Rouge does not seem to reach the ears of tourists. It is the wonderful local people; both Khmer and expats that have supported my gallery and others throughout covid and after. Khmer artists are looking towards foreign markets as grants are far more available,” she said with a tinge of bitterness.