At
Art School, Creativity Counts
by Botumroath Lebun
 |
| A student of the Reyum art school paints a monkey warrior Photo: Botumroath Lebun/The Cambodia Daily |
“I am there not to express my ideas or even utter words,” Kun Sotha said of the state-run school. “I sit there and learn to memorize things.”
“I am interested in expressing myself through art,” he said.
Kun Sotha is one of many students in the Cambodian education system who expressed disappointment with schools that fail to provide basic supplies for those interested in art, including pencils, crayons or even paper.
The lack of adequate supplies and limited opportunities for self-expression at Wat Koh high school pushed Kun Sotha to attend the Reyum Art Institute after classes.
“Reyum gives me skills, whereas Wat Koh hands me a high school certificate,” Kun Sothea said at Reyum, putting down his paintbrush to take a break.
When Kun Sotha graduates from Wat Koh, he hopes to pursue a degree in architecture. “My teacher gives me architecture books to look at,” said Kun Sotha, adding that art books are hard to find around town. “Flipping through the pages at his home, I was intrigued by bathrooms and their structures,” he said.
Another student at Reyum, Pon Tharong, 16, expressed her desire to create traditional drawings.
 |
|
Botumroath Lebun/The Cambodia Daily Reyum students draw still-life sketches of objects placed on the table |
Reyum art school director Lim Vanchan acknowledged a lack of jobs in the art field. Still, he said, the number of art students enrolling in the institute has increased, and he expressed hope that more jobs will open up in the near future.
“The appreciation of Cambo-dian arts is beginning to flourish,” he said. “The stability of the country contributed to an increase in tourism, which creates a demand for artists.”
Sebastian Marot, director of the NGO Mith Samlanh/Friends, which provides art training for street youths, said he also sees tourism offering more jobs for Cambodian artists. But he worried that an increase in tourism could have a negative impact on the country’s culture.
“I hate to say this, but Cambodia has been pushed by foreigners to revitalize Cambodian artists and their arts,” said Marot, who has lived and worked in Cambodia for more than 10 years.
“On Street 178, you see artists painting a copying image of Angkor Wat,” he continued, adding that there is little creativity involved. “What is important is not to turn Cambodia into an amusement park.”
Within the last decade, however, he said he has observed younger artists taking control of their imagination and development. The art teachers at his organization, hired from the Royal University of Fine Arts, have a fresh perspective in their work, Marot said. “These art-ists...they are really good, very creative and expressive in their artwork,” he said.
Though limited in funds, state-run schools, too, should incorporate art classes in their curriculum to encourage creative activities in their students, Marot said.
“If you give a child a pencil and paper, they will draw,” he said.