How to Celebrate Khmer New Year Like a Local in Battambang

How to Celebrate Khmer New Year Like a Local in Battambang

Nestled along the peaceful Sangker River, Battambang is a charming town that often goes unnoticed by travelers but offers a unique experience for those who visit. Known for its relaxed atmosphere, stunning architecture, and lively arts scene, this small yet...
Happy World Circus Day from Phare Ponleu Selpak!

Happy World Circus Day from Phare Ponleu Selpak!

From all the teachers, students, and staff at Phare Ponleu Selpak: Happy World Circus Day!  World Circus Day was founded on 17 April 2009 by the Federation Mondiale du Cirque to celebrate and promote traditional circus arts all over the world – and that includes...
Responsible Volunteering: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?

Responsible Volunteering: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?

Volunteering demonstrates the best of our shared humanity. Whenever we donate time, talent, or specific skills to a community organization, we have the chance to make the world a better place and impact real people in a responsible and meaningful way. And as our...
The Top 10 Phare Ponleu Selpak Blog Posts of 2023

The Top 10 Phare Ponleu Selpak Blog Posts of 2023

It’s that time of year when everything from music to movies is arranged in a list and counted down. At Phare Ponleu Selpak, we’re doing the same. The past year has been quite busy at Phare Ponleu Selpak with art festivals, volunteers, star alumni, and more all making...
Don’t Miss the Battambang imaginée Art Festival This Month

Don’t Miss the Battambang imaginée Art Festival This Month

It’s time to celebrate art, culture, and development in Battambang!  Phare Ponleu Selpak and AFD – Agence Française de Développement – have joined forces to bring a new art festival to Battambang Province, Cambodia entitled:   បាត់ដំបងក្នុងក្តីស្រមៃ / Battambang...
Artist Talk: Understanding Khmer Contemporary Art [Video]

Artist Talk: Understanding Khmer Contemporary Art [Video]

The tension between Khmer art preservation and development has been growing recently. During the 2023 S’Art Urban Art Festival, there were several discussions about arts and shared cultural heritage. This discussion with artists attempted to explain and...
Podcast: Hope of Lokru Srey Bandaul, the Smiling Hero

Podcast: Hope of Lokru Srey Bandaul, the Smiling Hero

Earlier this month, on 4 August 2023, was the commemoration of two years since the passing of Lokru Srey Bandaul, one of the beloved teachers and co-founders of Phare Ponleu Selpak. We remember the great meaning, purpose, and vision he gave to the Phare Ponleu Selpak...
Join Us at the S’Art Urban Arts Festival 2023!

Join Us at the S’Art Urban Arts Festival 2023!

The S’Art Urban Arts Festival is back! Join us on the streets of Battambang from 12 to 17 June 2023 for this biennial festival that introduces the public to urban art forms like hip-hop music and dance, as well as graffiti and mural painting. After cancelling the 2021...
A Year Gone by: Highlights from 2022 at Phare Ponleu Selpak

A Year Gone by: Highlights from 2022 at Phare Ponleu Selpak

2022 has come to a close, and it is with both pride and gratitude that we look back on all the things we have achieved in this first full post-lockdown year. The highlights are too many to count, but here – in words and in pictures – is our attempt.  Guinness World...
A Recap of the “Love Does Not Hurt” Mini Arts Festival

A Recap of the “Love Does Not Hurt” Mini Arts Festival

Celebrating 3 Years of the Love Does Not Hurt Campaign On Friday 14 October, we held a Mini Arts Festival on our campus called “Today’s Tomorrow,” wrapping up all the lessons learned during the past three years of implementing the LDNH project. Love Does...
Social Support Workshop: Be Like Bamboo, Bend But Don’t Break

Social Support Workshop: Be Like Bamboo, Bend But Don’t Break

As societies evolve, the difficulties that young people face – and the social support they need – change accordingly. For example, today’s youth in Cambodia have to deal with a number of challenges, including: Scholastic and peer pressure Family breakdowns or...
Promoting School Nutrition & Gardening at Phare Ponleu Selpak

Promoting School Nutrition & Gardening at Phare Ponleu Selpak

Current situation Malnutrition still impacts many children in Cambodia. Rice, some meat and vegetables is in their diet but seldom fruit and dairy products, because they are not affordable by vulnerable households. Moreover, Cambodians consume excessive amount of...
Phare Ponleu Selpak Creates a Mobile Community Library

Phare Ponleu Selpak Creates a Mobile Community Library

Out of the Tini Tinou International Circus Festival spotlight, which took everyone’s attention during the months of May and June, our education team was busy launching the community mobile library. Books have always played a significant role at Phare, engaging many...
Phare Ponleu Selpak Hosts Roundtable on Positive Discipline

Phare Ponleu Selpak Hosts Roundtable on Positive Discipline

On 23 March 2022 Phare Ponleu Selpak hosted a roundtable discussion on child protection and the promotion of positive discipline for children under the topic, “How to Apply Positive Discipline at School”, with seven guest speakers, including Mr. Chhun Ramy, Deputy...
Arts Integration in Phare Kindergarten & Child Development Center

Arts Integration in Phare Kindergarten & Child Development Center

How we are incorporating the arts into everything we do. And why it matters! Here at Phare Ponleu Selpak, we believe strongly in the power of the arts to change lives. And science is on our side! Many studies in Asia and around the world show that the arts have...
Guinness World Record: Phare artists performed 24h

Guinness World Record: Phare artists performed 24h

History was made at 08.10 am on Monday 8 March in Battambang, Cambodia when no less than 90 circus performers from Phare Ponleu Selpak took a final bow after a continuous circus performance that lasted 24h, 10min, and 30sec in a stunningly ambitious Guinness World...
What Worries Us & What Keeps Us Strong? Phare Voices [Part 2]

What Worries Us & What Keeps Us Strong? Phare Voices [Part 2]

These are strange times we are living in. Behind the scenes of Phare Ponleu Selpak are slices of life stories, with their ups and downs, but mostly carrying with them the hope of brighter days to come. Listen to Phare voices, round #2!  “I knew about Phare since...
How we support the communities we serve in times of COVID-19

How we support the communities we serve in times of COVID-19

In these troubled times, our first thought has been for the many impoverished communities in Battambang Province who are counting on Phare’s support. Social support has always been at the core of our mission. To understand the economic situation and immediate needs of...
Phare’s little artists joined the UNESCO online exhibition

Phare’s little artists joined the UNESCO online exhibition

COVID-19 brought the world to a temporary halt with many communities around the globe in lockdown, and millions of children being confined at home. This new situation presented novel challenges for their parents and guardians not yet familiar with home schooling....
COVID-19: Help the Brightness of the Arts keep on shining

COVID-19: Help the Brightness of the Arts keep on shining

Dear supporters and followers, I never imagined to be in the midst of a global pandemic during my lifetime. It is as if we have been thrown into an horror movie activating our survival instincts. Everyone in the world is being impacted in some way or another. With...
Angkor Ultra Trail Run Raises Money for Phare’s New Dance Studio!

Angkor Ultra Trail Run Raises Money for Phare’s New Dance Studio!

We did it: On January 18, 2020, about fifty people laced up their running shoes and set off on the 16 km Angkor Ultra Trail Run! The race was located in  the cultural jewel of Cambodia: the temples of Angkor. The trail weaved its way around several ancient temples,...
Monkeys Invade the Big Top Dance Showcase!

Monkeys Invade the Big Top Dance Showcase!

Last month, our Big Top hosted an array of short showcases thoroughly prepared by our younger performing arts students and their leisure class teachers. A unique opportunity for them to gain valuable stage experience and showcase their talent. Among the acts was the...
Statements from the Young Artists of Phare

Statements from the Young Artists of Phare

Meet our budding artists, who are studying both at the Phare Public School and our Performing Arts School! Thanks to our sponsorship program, they can enjoy free education and lots of creative activities on our campus. Statements from Sovann, 13 years old, circus...
Meet Koemyean, a Phare Visual Art Teacher and Fashion Designer

Meet Koemyean, a Phare Visual Art Teacher and Fashion Designer

Koemyean comes from Kor Koh village in Battambang Province. He is 27, he’s a fashion designer, and he teaches graphic design in our Visual and Applied Arts School (VAAS).  Not so long ago, he was a student in that very same school: « I enrolled in VAAS in 2013....
Phare 25th Anniversary Fundraising Galas

Phare 25th Anniversary Fundraising Galas

This year marks an important year for Phare Ponleu Selpak as we are celebrating our 25th anniversary! On this special occasion we organized two fundraising galas, one gala in Cambodia and one in France.  Our heartfelt thanks go out to all our supporters in Cambodia...
Looking back to 15 years of child support in Phare with Sokia

Looking back to 15 years of child support in Phare with Sokia

Sokia, our physiotherapist at Phare, joined Phare Ponleu Selpak in 2004 and has been with us since the early days of our child support initiatives. Here’s what he has to say about the evolution of child support at Phare.  “When I started at Phare, there were...
Meet the European Union Aid Volunteers of Phare Ponleu Selpak

Meet the European Union Aid Volunteers of Phare Ponleu Selpak

November marks the end of the European Union Aid Volunteers (EUAV) deployment after they have joined Phare team this past year. The volunteers arrived in November, January or June for a duration of six months, nine months, or one year. The 10 volunteers have offered...
Phare Ponleu Selpak’s Dance Studio Gets a Much-Needed Upgrade

Phare Ponleu Selpak’s Dance Studio Gets a Much-Needed Upgrade

How did it all start? The Performing Arts School introduced dance to the curriculum at the end of 2013. The lessons began with traditional Cambodian dance and built from there. Advanced classes introduced students to modern influences. The dance program aims at...
Meet Monisovanya Ry, Artist and Strategic Product Designer

Meet Monisovanya Ry, Artist and Strategic Product Designer

Monisovanya Ry studied as an artist in our Visual and Applied Arts School, where she attended the graphic design vocational training. With no previous arts literacy, her first motives to integrate into our program were very pragmatic: it was free and close from home....
Meet Xavier Gobin – Manager of Phare Ponleu Selpak France

Meet Xavier Gobin – Manager of Phare Ponleu Selpak France

Before joining Phare Ponleu Selpak, Xavier Gobin had a successful career as a dancer, collaborating with great creators such as Maurice Béjart and Jiri Kylian. However, very quickly, Gobin felt the desire to give others the same chances he had, of experiencing the...
Roundup of Phare’s 25th Anniversary Summer Events

Roundup of Phare’s 25th Anniversary Summer Events

Every year at Phare Ponleu Selpak, July marks the opportunity to reward the hard work of our graduates, who have been studying for up to 4 years in the Visual and Applied Arts School. We are celebrating the graduates starting a new chapter of their lives and launching...