Catch up on everything that’s happening at Phare Ponleu Selpak we work to change lives through the arts in Battambang, Cambodia.
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.
Realising our first circus “summer camp” with the Metta Karuna’s kids
Phare had the pleasure to co-organize a day of circus workshops to entertain and bring joy to the children of the « Metta Karuna » Center, a like-minded organization of Battambang Province which provides education and care to young people coming from dire family circumstances including severe poverty and abandonment.
Phare Creative Studio’s movie to protect the elderly against COVID-19 reached 1.2 million views!
Phare is well known for its circus and arts schools, but did you know it is hosting a professional graphic design and animation studio under the very same roof, whose latest COVID-19 animation movie amassed more than a million views?
COVID-19: What worries us, what keeps us strong? Listen to Phare voices!
Working in times of COVID-19 can be unsettling. Behind the scenes of Phare Ponleu Selpak, our staff and students tell us about their concerns and their strengths.
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 families affected by this global crisis, Phare’s social workers conducted a detailed survey in April.
Phare’s little artists joined the UNESCO online exhibition
Our passionate and dedicated teachers Lon Lao and Chen Phy joined this exciting initiative with six students from their leisure drawing classes to learn, create and discover about the natural and cultural heritage sites in their country, their region, and around the globe.
Stories of hope from Sovandy, Dana and Sreyleak
With schools being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic many of the children are at risk of dropping out of school permanently. Our mission to empower children and provide the support needed for them to stay in school and pursue their passions has never mattered more.
“Wash Ya Handz!!!” to fight COVID-19 with our performing students!
Like many content creators around the world, who are responding to the COVID-19 crisis online with engaging public health videos, Minor Act has teamed up with us to create a very unique Cambodian creative response: “Wash Ya Handz!!!”.
Phare Artists’ Creativity Has Been Flourishing During COVID-19 Confinement
Home confinement has provided Phare artists with time to reflect on this huge wave affecting us all and adapt to the situation by doing what they know best.
COVID-19: Help the Brightness of the Arts keep on shining
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.
Angkor Ultra Trail Run Raises Money for Phare’s New Dance Studio!
We did it: About fifty runners participated in the 16 km Angkor Ultra Trail around the temples of Angkor on January 18, 2020 to promote Phare Ponleu Selpak but most importantly to raise funds for the renovation of our dance studio.
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.
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.
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. I...
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
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 only two...
Interviews with Child Club Members, Ambassadors of Children’s Rights
Phare Ponleu Selpak is dedicated to upholding the rights of all children. To this end, Child Club was created in February 2015, by 30 students from 16 different villages in the communes of Ochar, Chamcar Samrong and Toul Taek. It comes from the idea that children...
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...
A glimpse of FENCE, our latest show imagined by Vienna Theater Der Sprachfelher
A brand new circus show called FENCE has been launched on our Battambang campus! This new performance is the fruit of a collaboration between our Performing Arts School and the Austrian Theater Der Sprachfehler. Its authors Andreas Jaehnert and Christian Kuehne spent...
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
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....
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