As part of Season of Cambodia, a multi-disciplinary arts festival taking place this spring in New York City, The New School will present a two-day colloquium on April 6 and 7 that will bring together artists, performers, curators, arts managers, scholars and students in a series of facilitated workshops and discussions on how to make the arts central to a sustainable future in Cambodia, in the face of rapid growth and urban development. In addition, the university will present two exhibitions that address these issues.

Season of Cambodia brings more than 125 artists to New York City for a major celebration of Cambodian arts, culture, and humanities. The festival celebrates Cambodia’s artistic renaissance just one generation after the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), a dark period in Cambodia’s history when nearly 90 percent of the nation’s artists and intellectuals were tragically eliminated in an effort to devastate a flourishing artistic community. Season of Cambodia serves as an international platform that not only highlights the extraordinary resilience of the Cambodian nation and its artists, but also helps pave the way for other post-conflict nations seeking renewal through artistic expression.

The festival’s lead partner and sponsor, Cambodian Living Arts, and The New School share a vision of art and design as transformative social agents for a sustainable urban future. In connection with the Season of Cambodia festival, The New School has aligned its activities this year to explore the current vibrancy of the arts in Cambodia, but also its vulnerability in the face of rapid urban development. These activities build upon a history of exchange among faculty and students across the university with colleagues in Cambodia. Parsons faculty members have collaborated with Cambodian Living Arts for over three years of reciprocal visits between Phnom Penh and New York, while Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts conducts an ongoing summer program in Siem Reap.

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Saturday, April 6: 6:30 PM-9:00 PM
Urban Design and Arts Development in Phnom Penh
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York

Sunday, April 7, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Full-day Colloquium in Three Acts:
Presented in collaboration with IN RESIDENCE, the Visual Art program of Season of Cambodia.
–  Icebreaking Workshop: Geo-body of the Living Arts City
–  Film Screening and Presentation: The Production of Space in the Living Arts City
–  Re-envisioning the City: Art and Urban Community
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall
The New School, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, New York

Cambodia: Drop by Drop You will Feel the Water
Exhibition runs April 11-April 24, 2013
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York

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REGISTER FOR THESE EVENTS

APRIL 6
6:30 PM-9:00 PM
Urban Design and Arts Development in Phnom Penh
Free registration here

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SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 6:30-9:00 PM
Living Arts City: Art and Urbanism in Phnom Penh and New York
Panel Discussion and Welcoming Reception
Joel Towers, Executive Dean, Parsons The New School for Design

Introduction to Cambodian Living Arts:
Arn Chorn-Pond, Founder, Cambodian Living Arts
John Burt, Founding Board Chair Emeritus, Cambodian Living Arts, and Chairman, Season of Cambodia

Introduction to Season of Cambodia:
Phloeun Prim, CEO, Season of Cambodia, and Executive Director, Cambodian Living Arts
Elena Park, Senior Festival Advisor

Keynote Address: Refuge, Diaspora and Return: Cosmopolitan Phnom Penh
William Greaves, Director of Vann Molyvann Project

Panel Discussion: Urban Design and Arts Development in Phnom Penh
William Morrish, Professor of Urban Ecology, Parsons The New School for Design
Brian McGrath, Research Chair in Urban Design, Parsons The New School for Design
Fred Frumberg, Cambodia Line Producer, Executive Director, Amrita Performing Arts
Erin Gleeson, Season of Cambodia Visual Art Program Co-Curator, and Artistic Director, SaSa Bassac

Greeves will discuss Phnom Penh’s emergence as a cosmopolitan city during the 1950s and 1960s, when the capital of the newly independent Cambodia was planned and designed by the architect Vann Molyvann under the patronage of King Norodom Sihanouk. The lecture sets the stage for imagining the type of cultural city possible in Phnom Penh today. Morrish will respond by outlining the link between urban design and arts development, and McGrath will moderate a discussion around the type of cultural city Phnom Penh is destined to become as the capital of an emerging 21st century democracy.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Living Arts City: Art and Urbanism in Phnom Penh and New York
A Colloquium in Three Acts
Presented in collaboration with IN RESIDENCE, the Visual Art program of Season of Cambodia.
Scholars, researchers, students, arts organizers, artists, policymakers, urbanists and designers from both New York and Cambodia will participate in a series of workshops and dialogues focused on how creativity fuels cities and how development and commodification dampens art production. This will include conversations on the role of public art, festivals, cultural district formation, and the distribution of arts and of artists in cities and towns; and will address such issues such as design, media, ecology, and youth development.

Welcome:
David Lewis, Interim Dean, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons The New School for Design
Brian McGrath, Research Chair in Urban Design, Parsons The New School for Design

 

10:00 AM Workshop: Geo-body of the Living Arts City
This three-act colloquium begins with Cambodian Visual Artists and Living Arts Fellows presenting themselves, their work and their ideas about art practice and organizations to colleagues in New York.

Cambodian Living Arts Fellows:
Song Seng, Cambodian Living Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Khun Chanreaksmey, Phare Ponleu Selepak, Battambang, Cambodia
Chea Sopheap, Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Hannah Stevens, Fellows Program Manager

Cambodian Visual Artists:
Khvyay Samnang, Leang Seckon, Lim Sokchanlina, Pete Pin, Amy Lee Sanford, Svay Sareth, Than Sok, Tith Kanitha, Vandy Rattana, Vuth Lyno, Anida Yeou Ali.

Asian Cultural Council Fellows:
Kong Vollak, Sereypagna Pen

Cambodian Community in New York:
Pete Pin, Brooklyn-based photographer
Chhaya Chhoum, Executive Director, Mekong NYC Community Organization, and Co-Chair, Season of Cambodia Community Council
Sarah Eisinger, Co-Chair, Season of Cambodia Community Council

 

1:00 PM The Production of Space in the Living Arts City
Screening: Rescue Archeology: Documents Of Performance Art From Phnom Penh
Presented by Leeza Ahmady, Season of Cambodia IN RESIDENCE Visual Art Program Director, and Season of Cambodia Visual Art Program Co-Curator, and Erin Gleeson, Season of Cambodia Visual Art Program Co-Curator

Presentation: Our City Festival: Cultivating Communities
Shelby Doyle, faculty member, School of Design Strategies, Parsons The New School for Design and 2011-2012 Fulbright research fellow based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Moderator, Radhika Subramaniam, Director, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design

Rescue Archeology: Documents of Performance Art from Phnom Penh is a selection of videos of performance art by seven Cambodian contemporary artists, including: Khvay Samnang, Leang Seckon, Lim Sokchanlina, Amy Lee Sanford, Svay Sareth, Than, Sok, Tith Kanitha, and Anida Yoeu Ali. These works demonstrate that while extensive resources are invested in Cambodia to rescue the ancient cities associated with Angkor Wat, it is contemporary artists who seek to rescue the physical, psychological and personal memories of their present capital city, Phenom Penh. Our City Festival: Cultivating Communities takes a look at the role that festivals play in creating a dialogue about the arts and art production, with a specific focus on Our City Festival, an organization that since 2008 has hosted over 80 projects in 60 sites in Phnom Penh, involving over 500 artists, cultural activists, youth ambassadors, and community members.

 

3:00 PM Living Arts District Workshop: Arts Production and Community Development
Speakers: Stiev Selepak: Khvay Samnang, Lim Sokchanlina, and Vuth Lyno

Khvay Samnang, Lim Sokchanlina and Vuth Lyno, co-founders of art collective Stiev Selepak, will present Phnom Penh’s historic White Building and the community-based experimental initiative Sa Sa Art Projects.  Built in the 1960s, the White Building (originally known as Bassac Municipal Apartments) was one of the city’s first examples of low-cost, multi-story housing, and was specifically intended to house artists, cultural workers and municipal staff.  Today, the White Building is one of the city’s most vibrant communities, hosting more than 2,500 residents, including classical dancers, master musicians, skilled craftspeople, cultural workers, civil servants, and street vendors. Located in the White Building and initiated by Stiev Selapak, Sa Sa Art Projects is an experimental space and residency program, creating opportunities for realizing new ideas.  Sa Sa Art Projects also hosts occasional exhibitions designed by and for community residents, and offers regular classes in contemporary art to the residents and nearby students.

The presentation is followed by a workshop facilitated by the faculty and students from The New School, with a goal of projecting the vibrancy of the living arts community in the White Building into a plan for a Living Arts Hub for Phnom Penh. Such New York projects as East 4th Street Arts Block and Long Island City Civic Action provide a model for the discussion.

Invited New School Participants:
William Morrish, Professor of Urban Ecology, Parsons The New School for Design
Irene Leung, Part-Time Faculty, The New School
Stephanie Browner, Dean, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts
Neil Greenberg, Chair of Arts Program, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts
Jaskiran Dhillon, Assistant Professor of Education Studies and Anthropology and Director of Lang in Cambodia, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts
Jonathan Bach, Director of Global Studies, The New School for Public Engagement
Carin Kuoni, Director, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, The New School
Radhika Subramaniam, Director, Shelia C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons
Lydia Matthews, Professor of Visual Culture, School of Art, Media and Technology, Parsons
Adam Brent, Director, BFA Integrated Design, School of Design Strategies, Parsons
Alison Mears, Dean, School of Design Strategies Parsons
Alfred Zollinger, Director, Parsons Design Workshop, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons
Alan Wexler, Part-Time Faculty, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons
Simone Douglas, Director, MFA Fine Arts, School of Art, Media, Technology, Parsons
Anthony Aziz, Director, BFA Fine Arts, School of Art, Media and Technology, Parsons
Long Island City Civic Action team: David Leven, Andrew Bernheimer, Astrid Lipka and Claire Weisz, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons
Brian McGrath, Research Chair in Urban Design, Parsons The New School for Design
Victoria Marshall, Assistant Professor of Urban Design, School of Design Strategies, Parsons
Alan Bruton, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons
Shelby Doyle, Part-Time Faculty, School of Design Strategies, Parsons
Sereypagna Pen, Asia Cultural Council Fellow, Visiting Scholar, School of Constructed Environments, Parsons

Parsons Graduate Student Facilitators:
Janet Lobberecht, Rashid Owoyele, and Bridget Sheerin, MFA Transdisciplinary Design
Andres Gonzalez-Bode, M. Arch/MFA Lighting Design
Jenny Werbell, MFA Interior Design/MFA Lighting Design
Joshua Brandt and Jonathan LaPalme, MS Design and Urban Ecologies

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RELATED EVENTS

Water, Politics and Art: Contemporary Contexts for Architecture and Urbanism in Phnom Penh
April 5-May 10, 2013
Opening Reception: April 10, 6:00-8:00 PM
School of Constructed Environments Gallery
25 East 13th Street, 2nd Floor
Parsons The New School for Design, New York

Water, Politics and Art offers an introduction to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, as a Living Arts City. Phnom Penh is located at the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Basaac Rivers, an intersection known as the ‘Four Faces’ or ‘Chaktomuk’. This fluid geography creates architectural and urban conditions both sustained by and subject to the cyclical floods of the city’s rivers, producing challenges for Phnom Penh as it rapidly urbanizes in a flood plain. After decades of civil war and unrest, economic and political stability have brought foreign investment and extensive change to the city and its landscape. However in the absence of access to data, documentation, political transparency or a locally supported strategic plan, heavy-handed development practices are directing a new type of urban transition for the residents of Phnom Penh. Students from Royal University of Fine Arts, Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Cambodian Mekong University, Norton University and Pannasastra University of Cambodia as well as Parsons The New School for Design present work that describes the reality of this urban transition, as well as alternative strategies for the future of Phnom Penh. Shelby Doyle, a faculty member at Parsons who was a 2011-2012 Fulbright research fellow based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, curates the exhibition. Her research is entitled City of Water: Architecture, Infrastructure, and the Floods of Phnom Penh. The exhibition is made possible through the support of Michele and Steve Pesner and Setpheap (Peace) San.

Cambodia: Drop by Drop You Will Feel the Water
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York
April 11 – April 24, 2013

Opening reception: April 10, 6-8 pm

Cambodia: Drop by Drop You Will Feel the Water is a multimedia exhibition exploring historical and contemporary relationships between Cambodia and the world with a particular emphasis on its ties to the United States. Maps, photographs, drawings, video recordings, installations, and fieldwork narratives from student work across the divisions of Parsons and Lang in the Anthropology of Development, History and Politics, Architecture, and Urban Design and Ecology thread together interdisciplinary connections that highlight a fluid and changing country. Coinciding with Season of Cambodia, a Living Arts Festival in New York City, this exhibition hopes to spur curatorial dialogues that engage with the communities of The New School, the larger New York area, and the visiting artists from Cambodia.

Curators: Andres Gonzalez-Bode, Shelley Green, Jordan Lapolla, Fiona Mahurin, Jenny Werbell, Zoe Yates

Faculty: Jaskiran Dhillon and Radhika Subramaniam.