Teaching art at Phare: a foreigner’s perspective

My name is Arrow Hargis, I’m an 18-year-old Princeton University student. I have the privilege to volunteer at Phare Ponlue Selapack and teach art to kids. I teach with Lokru Lao, one of the founders of Phare and a former student of the French humanitarian Véronique...

Learn about Khmer traditional Games, key concepts, and more of Phare Kindergarten Sangkran

Khmer New Year: How Phare Kindergarten Celebrated Songkran

Every year in mid-April, Cambodians celebrate the traditional holiday known as Khmer New Year – or Songkran – over the course of three festive days. The holiday is rooted in Buddhist traditions and is an important time for Cambodians to get back together with their...

Learn how financial literacy and life skills workshops are helping Phare students succeed long-term

How Life Skills & Financial Literacy Classes Empower Phare Students

What do you imagine when you think about the sorts of classes circus artists take part in here at Phare Ponleu Selpak? Flips and trapezes? Sequins and tightropes? Not always. Recently, Phare performing arts students took part in financial literacy workshops thanks to...

Arts Integration in Phare Kindergarten & Child Development Center

Here at Phare Ponleu Selpak, we believe strongly in the power of the arts to change lives. And science is on our side!

Reconnecting with Her Cambodian Roots Through Art: The Story of Diana Houl

For many artists, art is a way to express themselves and share their creativity with the world. For Diana Houl, art also became a bridge that connected her to her family history and her Cambodian roots.  Diana Houl is a half-Swiss, half-Cambodian tattoo artist and...

Phare Ponleu Selpak won the Stevie award

Phare Ponleu Selpak grabs 4 gold trophies at the Stevie International Business Awards

After the most difficult year in our history, including the closure of our circuses with disastrous impact on funding, we have triumphed against the odds to win four gold awards at the Stevie International Business Awards (IBAs)! Phare has just been recognised once again for our audacious 24 hour circus World record attempt and fundraiser.

Discover the "Anapyabal" mural on our circus building, painted by FinDac.

Keeping our visual art students’ vocations alive thanks to FinDac & Tribe Gallery  

Those who have visited our campus after fall 2019 must remember the iconic «Anapyabal» mural on our circus building, painted by the world-famous Irish urban artist FinDac. After his visit to  Cambodia and Phare, he made limited edition prints of Anapyabal for Cambodia sold through our partner Tribe Gallery and another one for the international audience. 100% of profits have been donated towards Phare Visual and Applied Arts School students’ scholarship fund. 

Read about the new Lokru Srey Bandaul reflection garden and the memorial service to inaugurate it

In Memory of Lokru Srey Bandaul: Inaugurating a New Reflection Garden at Phare Ponleu Selpak

Since 2021, every year in early August the Phare Ponleu Selpak community grieves the loss of one of our co-founders, Lokru SREY Bandaul. On August 4, 2023, we celebrated the memory of Bandaul who passed away two years ago from COVID-19, with the inauguration of a new...

Ensuring the youngest’s development while Phare kindergarten is closed 

After all Cambodian schools closed in March, Phare’s Education Department responded by developing outreach programs in the surrounding communes to provide our kindergarten children with face to face, socially distanced classes. Meet our teacher Hanny, who has been very actively engaged in teaching her students in the communities.

Volunteering opportunities in Cambodia at Phare Ponleu Selpak

Meet the Volunteers of Phare Ponleu Selpak: Eliot WITHERSPOON, Communications & Marketing Intern [Video]

This past year, Phare Ponleu Selpak received two student volunteers from the United States. They have spent around seven months at Phare and will be leaving soon to start their first year of university. As a farewell, we asked a few questions about their internship...

Catch up on everything that's happening at Phare Ponleu Selpak we work to change lives through the arts in Battambang, Cambodia.

Teaching art at Phare: a foreigner’s perspective

Teaching art at Phare: a foreigner’s perspective

My name is Arrow Hargis, I’m an 18-year-old Princeton University student. I have the privilege to volunteer at Phare Ponlue Selapack and teach art to kids. I teach with Lokru Lao, one of the founders of Phare and a former student of the French humanitarian Véronique...

read more...
ircus and theatre performances during old times with performing arts school students.

A Living Legacy: Sam Monny and the History of Phare Theatre

 A Creative Path Begins (1996) Every artistic journey starts somewhere. For Mr. Sam Monny, it began in 1996, when Phare Ponleu Selpak was still a young vision taking shape in Battambang. At just sixteen, Mony became one of Phare’s first general art students.  Born and...

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Canvas of Pride: Colourful Stories at Phare Ponleu Selpak

Canvas of Pride: Colourful Stories at Phare Ponleu Selpak

Every June, countries around the world come together to celebrate Pride Month, a time to recognize the resilience and rights of LGBT+ communities. In Cambodia, Pride Month is not widely recognized, and for many LGBT+ youth, acceptance for who they are remains elusive....

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From Visitor to Volunteer: Gabriel’s Story at Phare

From Visitor to Volunteer: Gabriel’s Story at Phare

What makes a place so special that it keeps calling you back? For Gabriel Monson, a 72-year-old traveler from Australia, Phare Ponleu Selpak became more than just a stop on her journey. It is a community that feels like home. What began as a simple visit turned into...

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