Commissioner

Phloeun Prim, Executive Director of Living Arts International (Phnom Penh)

In 2010, Phlouen became Director of Cambodian Living Arts (CLA). In the last decade he has led the transformation of Cambodian Living Arts into Living Arts International, initiating policy-driven, collaborative and transnational cultural actions, inspired by the resilience of arts communities in post-conflict contexts.

Curator

Jean-Baptiste Phou, Writer and Multidisciplinary Artist (Phnom Penh-Paris)

Jean-Baptiste is the author of the play ‘Cambodia, Here I Am!’, the book ‘Coming Out of My Skin’ and the director of the short film ‘My Mother’s Tongue’. Since 2017, he has made his home in Phnom Penh where, until late 2020, he headed Creative Programs for the NGO Cambodian Living Arts for which he organized several festivals and productions.

Laura Ouk, President of the Cambodian American Heritage Museum & the Killing Fields Memorial (Chicago)

Laura has over a decade of experience in various educational settings, from elementary to high school to school administration. She represented the Cambodian Association of Illinois on the steering committee led by Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago that advocated for the TEAACH Act in 2021, making Illinois the first state in the US to require the teaching of Asian American history in public schools.

Sophoan Khoeun, Vice President of the Cambodian American Heritage Museum & the Killing Fields Memorial (Chicago)

Sophoan lived and worked for an NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2001-2002.  From 2002 to 2004, Sophoan was part of the Capital Campaign that culminated in the grand-opening of the current National Cambodian Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial. After joining the private sector, he served on the advisory committee that launched the Museum’s first exhibit.

Sopheap Chea, Executive Director of Bophana Center (Phnom Penh)

Sopheap earned his Master of Arts in History at Khmerak University in 2012. He has worked with Bophana for a decade and as his career has developed, his work has been increasingly linked to arts and culture; he has produced cultural events, run film festivals, installed exhibitions and used the resources of Bophana to form links and networks between people in the sector.

Roger Ly, Multidisciplinary Artist (Sydney)

Roger’s work spans acting, writing, stand-up, movement, music composing, and performance art, focusing on themes of culture, politics, and identity. Roger holds a Bachelor of Arts (Distinction) in Social Anthropology and Creative Arts. Passionate about enriching communities Roger blends his well-being profession as meditation coach and artistry to create meaningful events that bring communities together. 

Jean-Alex Quach, President of Pouma’Khmer Association (Paris)

Graduated in 2022 from ENSCI – Les Ateliers as an industrial designer, Jean-Alex recently founded his own art and design studio, Entre les Rives, a creative space that explores questions of cultural heritage, transmission and know-how. As a young Chinese-Cambodian French designer, his projects enable him to create a link between the different cultural spaces through which he evolves. 

Olary Yim, CEO of Catch Int’l LLC (Los Angeles)

Olary Yim is a Cambodian-born Cultural Event Producer and Entrepreneur specializing in business development, global operations management, vision planning, and international strategic alliances. Her career highlight includes organizing a worldwide vigil commemorating the evacuation of Phnom Penh, and the 40th anniversary of the 1979 overthrow of the Khmer Rouge, marking the end of the Cambodian genocide.

Rémy Chhem, Co-founder of Super Boat People Collective (Montreal)

Within the Super Boat People, Rémy leads various projects related to community and family history in addition to culinary and horticultural knowledge. Outside of the collective, he works as an academic researcher in the social sciences, specialising in political ecology and with a marked interest in history and environmental justice. He is currently completing a PhD at the University of Ottawa.

Sokunthary Svay, Scholar-artist from New York City

Sokunthary Svay, Lecturer in English at the City College of New York CUNY, Co-Founder of Cambodian American Literary Arts Association. Sokunthary is a scholar-artist from New York City. Her scholarly work focuses on Cambodian American diasporic cultural production.  She is the author of three opera libretti, poetry collection Apsara in New York (Willow Books, 2017) and of the memoir Put It On Record: A Memoir-Archive (2023). She is a doctoral candidate in English at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches literature in Harlem.

The Cambodian American Heritage Museum & the Killing Fields Memorial

Established since 2004, The Museum & Memorial is the only museum of its kind in the US, which dedicates its programs and activities to the Cambodian genocide awareness and social justice, advocacy for genocide survivors and their families, healing arts, and youth leadership development in social justice.

Bophana Center

Founded by film director Rithy Panh, Bophana Center collects every archive images and sounds on Cambodia, and it offers free public access to this unique heritage. Bophana Center also trains young Cambodians for careers in filmmaking, broadcasting and new media. The goal is to open their mind to artistic creation and foster a personal cultural production.

Catch International

LA & Phnom Penh based production house specialized in international trade & development. Film, Web, TV, New Media, Live Events, & AR/VR Experiences.

Pouma’Khmer (PMK)

PMK is an association dedicated to people of Khmer origin in France. Its purpose is to create a space for dialogue within the community, allowing members to share their stories and support each other in their quest for identity. The association was created in 2023 and has developed several activities, including Khmer courses, sharing circles, artistic workshops and the exhibition “Lettres à nos ancêtres” (“Letters to Our Ancestors”).

Super Boat People Collective

Super Boat People is a collective dedicated to mobilizing Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese individuals of origin and alliance in Quebec. The collective encourages them to reclaim their histories, reconnect with their culture and communities, and ensure fair representation. To achieve this, the collective develops and implements a range of initiatives centered on family and community history, arts and cultural expression, sustainable foodways, and social advocacy campaigns.

Dr. Duong Keo, Historian and author of Khmer Rouge History Application 

In Cambodia, he works as a history lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He holds a Master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University. His areas of interest include developing educational resources, conducting research on Cambodia’s violent history and post-conflict period, oral history among others.

Cambodian Australian Welfare Council

The Cambodian-Australian Welfare Council of NSW Inc. (CAWC) is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1983 as Khmer Interagency (KI). The organisation is a network of Khmer and non-Khmer workers, interested in Khmer issues, and meets on a monthly basis to liaise, discuss and plan programmes and activities to meet the needs of the Cambodian community.

Cambodian Living Arts & Culture Australia

The purpose of Cambodian Living Arts & Culture (CLAC) Australia is to preserve and develop Khmer culture and traditions for the enjoyment of current and future generations of Cambodians. Their dedication to preserving and sharing our cultural legacy shines through every dance and performance.